Mr Brightside
by mecca-dog
Summary: Torn and Kiera are both betrayed, but find friends in each other TxK
1. Comin' Outta My Cage

Hey y'all! This is my first post ever on so read it and be nice!

Disclaimer: yeah. Like I own the Jak universe. HA HA HA! -sigh- If I did, you'd be able to play as Torn and Ashelin would be DEAD

(AN: this is before the precursors left, so Tess is still human)

Rating:PG-13- some swearing, and I guess, implications, but nothin' bad

Mr. Brightside

by

mecca-dog

There they were over in the corner, laughing and talking like nothing had happened.

But something did happen. Something big. At precisely 6:57 p.m., on August 7, Jak-err, Mar- had stuck his tongue down his girlfriends throat. Oh, and they had defeated Cyber Errol and the Dark Makers too, but that was beside the point.

Okay, so he and Ashelin were never officially "together", but the heated looks and obvious flirting had to mean something, right? Didn't sacrificing the lives of his _own men_ to save her life mean anything to her? He _danced_ with her for Mar's sake! Didn't she care!

Apparently not, as she had just begun to kiss the eco enhanced warrior again, in plain view of him and everyone else. Bitch.

Torn sat alone at the bar of the Naughty Ottsel, glaring at his half empty bottle of beer, looking occasionally in the mirror in front of him, behind the bar. In said mirror, he could see all that was happening behind him.

Sitting with the two traitors was the rat and Tess. She was rubbing his stomach affectionately while "orange lightning" rattled on about something (probably how he took out Errol), obviously drunk. Jak and Ashelin were still kissing like it was the only way to take in air, oblivious to the excitement around them. Ew, they just started to use more tongue than before.

Torn tore his eyes away to the gruesome sight that was second base. To the happy couples left sat the precursors themselves, along with Samos and Onin, Pecker on her shoulder translating for the mute/deaf/blind mystic.

Sig was talking to some chick in a rubber mask, Seem, he guessed, and some big guy who ,if he recalled, was called Kliever. Sig was starting to get drunk; never a good sign.

He sighed. He didn't belong here with all these _happy_ people. He didn't do happy.

When your heart gets ripped from your chest and eaten whole, you start to wonder what's wrong with you. Torn looked up into the mirror and saw a pair of ice blue eyes staring back at him. Maybe the reason she left me, he mused to himself, was because Jak was better looking than me. Jak was blond with deep, ocean blue eyes and a muscular build from all his adventures. Torn was brunette (with his signature 'rows of course), tall and lanky, and there was a certain harshness that came from him. His body was covered in the marks of an ex-KG commander, covering his deep beige skin with ugly black ink. Personally, he didn't think he'd be winning any beauty pageants any time soon.

Or, he thought, maybe she left me because I wasn't always out there on the front lines. It was true, he gave the orders, and Jak carried them out. But it wasn't all his fault; it'd been like that even in his guard days. He was one hell of a tactician. His plans almost always worked and the FL couldn't afford for him to be killed. Jak gave off more of a sense of danger, of adventure. Woman went for that kind of thing. You didn't want to mess with Torn, but you wouldn't necessarily call him _dangerous_.

He finished off his beer, contemplating whether or not he should grab another before he left. That's when he heard the sound of a bottle being opened to his right. He glanced over and his eyes met the sight of a very depressed looking Kiera drinking a diet root beer like it had personally insulted her.

He'd forgotten about her. And by the looks of it, so had all her so called "friends" too. No one, not even her father, spared her a glance; they were all too busy having a good time. She was in the same boat as him, hurt and alone.

Torn suddenly felt worse and better at the same time. Worse because the usually cheerful girl was obviously upset, and better because someone understood how he felt. He wasn't alone. The FL commander knew exactly how the girl felt, even though he didn't know her all to well. He had seen her face as she, and everyone else, had witnessed Jak's kiss with Ashelin. She really had loved him, and he really didn't care he practically destroyed her life. She was tough, he thought, any other girl would have cried, or something. She didn't even tear up a bit. Just looked like she'd be shot and didn't know ahead of time.

Jak was a moron to let her go, he mused, she really was quite beautiful. Her hair and large eyes stood out against her flawless alabaster skin, and she was so petite and slender. Sure, Ashelin had the body, but Kiera had an odd innocence about her that made most men instantly attracted to her. That and, although not to Ashelin's standards, her curves were very appealing...

Torn shook his head. He needed to stop thinking thoughts like that about a 17 year old girl ( 5 years his junior ). Besides, he needed to go back to headquarters and clean up a bit, maybe try to get some work done. Haven wouldn't rebuild itself. He figured he could do the rest of the city like New Haven; he liked the way he'd laid it out when he'd planned it. Although, sometimes he missed Underground HQ; it'd been his only home after he deserted the KG.

A frustrated sigh brought him out of his revere. He looked to where the noise came from and discovered Kiera trying to open another, particularly stubborn, bottle of root beer. For some reason, this made him smile slightly. It was ironic that she spent all day working on zoomers, but yet her little mechanics hands couldn't open up a simple bottle. Mechanics hands...

He shook his head again. He really needed to sleep. You don't start thinking thoughts of that variety about a _minor_ without either getting slapped or arrested. She'd had no luck with the bottle and was now glaring at it like it had insulted her mother. He needed to get home, so as a way of silent apology, for (in his opinion) being a perv, he got up and walked over to her. In one swift movement, he grabbed the bottle, opened it, and handed it back to her.

The aqua-haired mechanic looked up at him, shocked, it seemed, that anyone was paying attention to her.

"Thanks," she said with a weak, but genuine smile.

"No problem," he replied with a smile that matched hers.

And with that he left the bar, trying his hardest not to attract any attention.

Thanks for readin'! If somethin's wrong, let me know, k?


	2. Forgotten

Wow! I never thought that anyone would actually read my stories, let alone like and review them! Thanks to stardust03 and Nefertari22 for the reviews!

Rating: PG-13

AN: This is Kiera's point of view of what happened in the last chapter. Review if you want, but you don't have to.

Disclaimer: ditto from last chappy

Forgotten

She sat in the small cramped stall, wishing by the fury little precursors that she was anywhere but here. Here being the ladies room of the Naughty Ottsel, among the cheap toilet paper and bad smelling soap. Normally she wouldn't be here, she'd be out in one of the booths, rolling her eyes at one of Daxter's moronic jokes, or having a 'girl talk' with Tess. But today wasn't a normal day. Today, Jak, with the "help" of Daxter of course, had defeated that horrible Errol.

Sometimes -scratch that everyday- she wondered what possessed her to ever talk to the egomaniac. All he'd ever done was hit on her and try to get her to be his mechanic. But the past was past. Something else had happened.

That something else had been not the salvation of the planet, nor the destruction of her metallic stalker; no, she Kiera, the ever loyal and cheerful mechanic had been dumped. Not the 'Oh, we've grown apart, let's see other people' dumped, no the 'I'm gonna make out in front of you with a girl with boobs the size of my head while everyone cheers' dumped.

The young aqua-haired racer had watched as Jak had gave Ashelin _her_ kiss. The kiss interrupted every single time by a certain fuzzy orange precursor. Kiera sighed. Seventeen years old and never been kissed? That was sad. Well, technically she had been kissed, but the guy was drunk and she had moved so he only got her chin before she smacked him upside the head. That particular lip fiasco didn't count because she was saving her _real_ one for Jak...

She sighed again. For a second she had almost forgot about him. About those eyed, that smile, how he had betrayed her with some red-headed whore... Kiera knew she could never be anything like Ashelin. She was tall and curvy, with a purr-like voice guys loved. She herself was petite and, although not exactly _boyish_, she could never measure up to the governesses standards. Any sane guy would choose Ashelin, end of story.

Someone suddenly knocked on the door, obviously needing to use the toilet she was currently perched on. So, sighing for the third time that night, she got up and left the little bathroom, heading into the noisy bar.

Quickly scanning the bar, she immediately spotted the owner of her unreturned affections and his new lap bitch. The two were currently locked in a passionate kiss, not paying any attention to Daxter and Tess who were cuddled up near them. Daxter was so drunk he couldn't form a coherent word, just a bunch of mumbles.

Her father was having a conversation with the precursors, along with Onin and Pecker. Kiera gave a slight inward smile. The green sage had spent the majority of his life obsessing about the precursors, who turned out to be a bunch of furry rodents. The irony almost made her laugh. Almost.

She ignored all the other people in the bar, not really caring if she seemed rude. It wasn't like anyone really noticed any ways. They were all to busy celebrating their salvation.

The green-eyed girl made her way over to the practically empty bar. Only one other person was seated there, about four stools from her. Torn.

She hadn't thought about what he might have felt. After all, he and Ashelin were _always_ flirting, however well hidden they thought it was. It stood to reason that he would be hurt by the traitorous lip-lock as well. Kiera was certain he was, if the distant look and heavy scowling said anything. If she'd have been in a better mood, she might've been more friendly towards him, but she wasn't so she said nothing.

Instead, she grabbed a root beer from behind the counter. Right now she would've preferred something much stronger but, alas, she was underage and was a law abiding citizen so she opted for a non alcoholic drink. She took a seat on one of the low stools and opened up her bottle with a hiss.

She felt someone looking at her all of a sudden. Not a glare, but a simple glance it seemed. Before she could find out who the glancer was, they looked away. 'Probably just looking at the time,' she guessed, not really caring one way or the other. The mirror behind the bar showed all the action going on behind her and she surveyed it with longing. How much did she wish she was with everyone, laughing and getting drunk. Right now though she was too tired, and she wanted to remain the angsty misunderstood girl for a little longer. She turned her eyes to the other occupant of the counter instead.

Torn was still there, sloshing the beer that was left around the bottle, staring at the bubbles in made in the amber liquid inside. She couldn't help but admire the ice blue orbs doing the staring. She'd seen those same eyes cold and ruthless as he took down metal head after metal head. They'd been deep and tactical as he ordered his men on the battle field. But never had she seen them happy. The _real_ happy. Amused, confused, and angry. But never happy.

Kiera chugged the rest of her drink as she tried to fathom never feeling happy. Never feeling the elation of victory or the joy of spontaneousness. The petite seventeen year old reached for another root beer. And, try as she might, she couldn't get the damn thing open! She let way of yet another sigh, this one from frustration and set the offending bottle back on the counter top. She sent it a glare, as if blaming it for her bad night.

All of a sudden, the bottle flew from the table, hissed open, and set itself back down. Kiera, knowing it didn't do it itself, looked up to find the same orbs she had just been admiring moments before. She was temporarily struck dumb by the realization of just how tall Torn was. He had to be at least a foot taller than her. When she finally was able to speak again, she gave a small, but, believe it or not, true smile and squeaked out, "Thanks."

"No problem," he replied in that deep, throaty voice of his. And he smiled. Like hers, it was small but wasn't fake; he didn't fake the few smiles he did smile. With that he left the Naughty Ottsel, not stopping to say anything to anyone. Kiera watched him from the mirror and, although she was disgusted with herself, her gaze roamed from the dagger strapped to his armor to perfect, round little butt. Although, she reasoned with herself, any sane girl would have to check that out.

thanks for readin' y'all! This chappy had a slight bit of humor at the end, but I thought it was needed to liven things up, don't cha think?


	3. Home is Where the Heart Is

How's it going readers? Well, chappy 3 is finally up, freshly written from the track bus (which is the reason I didn't update yesterday).

Disclaimer: yeah...right...like I own Jak...ha ha ha

Mr. Brightside

Chapter 3

Home is Where the Heart Is

After leaving the Naughty Ottsel, Torn took his time walking around the wreck that was Haven City. All around him the stench and decay left from the war infiltrated his senses, making him nauseous. Occasionally he would hear a few shots, or see a few of his men taking out the remaining metal heads and KG bots.

The dread-locked warrior told a few of the FL members to go home; they deserved to celebrate too. Besides, only a handful of the KG bots were still activated and they'd shut the majority of the metal heads out of the city. This was one of the reasons the men the men would die for their commander; he thought about both them and the people they were trying to protect. And who can't love a guy that practically tells you to go get drunk?

Torn wasn't paying attention to where he was going. He never had to, his feet knew where they were headed without guidance. He stopped near the entrance to the slums. They were looking worse than ever, but to him, the sight was heartening. This was _his_ haven. After his desertion of the KG he came here. The night he left was not unlike this one, calm and overcast, with a light chill in the air.

_FLASHBACK_

He'd been training in the weight room when Errol came in, swearing and yelling.

"Torn, the metal heads have breached the South Eastern part of the Slums! We need all the men we can get!"

The tall man responded immediately, grabbing his armor and guns from a near by table. He automatically strapped a deathly sharp dagger to his back and then ran out the door. He hopped on a zoomer and sped over to the slums, praying he wasn't too late.

When he arrived at the scene, he realized this wasn't just a 'breach'; all hell had broke loose. People fought to get into the main part of the city, desperate to get away from the monsters currently ravaging the area. The wounded cried out, most ripped in pieces and dying a excruciatingly painful death. They prayed for deaths sweet silencing, screaming for the pain to end. Those that got their wish littered the ground, being trampled by those trying to escape.

The monstrous metal heads ripped carelessly at civilian and soldier alike, spaying everything in a deep scarlet blood. Their glowing skull gems remained clean, however, even though their bodies were stained red.

Torn began to give out orders, yelling his already low voice hoarse. Under his command, they began to slowly gain their footing in the battle. The men's fear, although still beating al quickly as their hearts, was lessened by the presence of their commander. With him there, they were safe. He'd never let them down before. This, of course, helped with the fighting.

Unfortunately for them, however, there were still people outside the city-more than they could get in the walls quick enough- and the metal head leader was coming. Everyone knew it by the sudden stillness in the monsters they were fighting. Sure enough, Torn could see on the horizon a massive skull gam glowing in the sun.

"Retreat!" yelled a voice from behind the commander. He whirled around, wondering who gave the order. He saw Errol sprinting into the gates, obviously horrified.

"NO!" Torn roared at the men following his retreating form. "Stand your ground! We can still get those people out of there!"

But his voice was caught in the roar of the metal heads and the creaking of the closing gates. Soldiers shoved the commander forward, back into the safety of the city.

"Errol! Open these gates back up you bastard!" yelled Torn, whipping his bright red helmet from his head."There's still people out there!"

But Errol wasn't listening to his superior, nor making any attempt to help those still screaming outside the walls. Instead, he turned to one of the lower officers and told him to report to the baron.

"Tell him there was a malfunction in the gate and there was nothing we could do." The ginger-haired man smirked at Torn. "It will be our little secret." He paused before adding, "That's an order!"

The officer, fearing the higher ranking guard, scurried off to report to the baron the story he'd just been told.

Torn could barely speak from loathing of the man in front of him. Before he could strangle him, however, Errol spoke again.

"Men, escort Commander Torn to his quarters in the southern part of the KG compound. All this fighting has gotten his brain addled." And with another smirk, he turned on his heel and headed towards the Stadium for a few laps on the track.

"Errol, I'll kill you! Somehow, you'll be dead by my orders!" growled out Torn as he was dragged off by some of Errol's supporters.

As soon as he was dropped off at his room, the furious tactician left to go tell Praxis what had really transpired during the soon to be called Dead Town Massacre. He found it odd that Errol hadn't posted a few men to keep him in the compound, but was too angry to dwell on the matter.

He entered the palace and was immediately hailed by Ashelin Praxis. The red-head looked worried and confused, two emotions not usually viewed on her face.

"Torn, what happened out there!" she questioned urgently.

But he just brushed by her and continued on into the throne room, where her father sat, drinking a glass of blood red wine. Ashelin knew this had to be something big; her old KG Training Academy friend avoided her father at all costs.

"Sir!" Torn called to the bored looking baron, "Errol was lying, he shut the gates! He- "

The baron interrupted him with a raising of the hand. "I know," was all he said, in a calm, almost exasperated voice. It was true; he was well aware that Errol had made the gates close, and he honestly couldn't care. That part of the city had been suspected for rebellion, and the gates used up too much eco in his opinion. The only thing that bothered him about this whole ordeal was that it obviously angered his most promising guard. The boy was only seventeen and was already commanding his men like an old pro and his plans were flawless. The baron, under no circumstances, wanted to lose him. But the boy had to learn the ways of the real world; if you can't defend yourself, you die.

"Sir?" Asked Torn, confused by what he had just heard.

"I said I know that Errol lied. And I honestly couldn't care less." Replied the baron in a voice that sounded as if he was telling a five year old how to blink. Then his face got very serious. "And you shouldn't either. You are to forget what you saw there today, commander. Those people's lives mean nothing to anyone, so you are not to dwell on it. Guards, take him to his room."

Before he could say another word, a very stunned and angry Torn was, for the second time that day, escorted back to the compound.

That night, the commander destroyed his bright red armor that proclaimed him one of the guards. He took nothing with him except the only things that mattered to him: his father's old dagger he had inherited and a worn out photograph of his parents. He escaped from the KG compound despite the security posted around him with ease and ran out into the dark streets of Haven City.

_END FLASHBACK_

Torn shook his head and took a deep breath, the familiar smell oddly comforting. He walked to his home, finding the sight of the dead end alley calming to him. The Old Underground HQ hadn't been inhabited since the end of the baron's reign, and still had the maps and posters on the walls, and his desk had a fine coating of dust on it. But to him, it was better than any apartment in New Haven, mess and all.

He entered his room, giving a faint smile as he took in the semi-clean area; he'd always kept it neat, for obvious reasons. The small cot that had to have a crate at the end so his feet wouldn't hang off had never looked more inviting, and he collapsed on it, only pausing to remove his weapons and his shirt. And with that, he fell into a fitful sleep.

well, I pretty much butchered the battle scenes and they were so cliche. Ah, well. Sorry 'bout the lack of romance in this chappy, I promise there'll be some in the next one! Peace out!


	4. No Title Comes to Mind

Okay, before I get this thing going, I have to say some things. First, to all those that review, you guys rock! Seriously, I love your reviews!

Next, your gonna hate me now, 'cause I promised you some romance in this chapter, but...I sorta lied. Now, before you send me hate mail, the next chap is totally TxK flirting! I'd have two chap's on a day, 'cause it takes me about a half hour-hour to write 'em (depends on my muse that day), but it takes FOREVER to type it! Any ways, I'll stop talking now and let you read.

Disclaimer: the only thing I own is the dukoose that I invented, k?

Mr. Brightside

Chapter 4

No Title Comes to Mind

Shortly after Torn had left, Kiera decided it was time to leave too. She got up in, what she hoped was, an inconspicuous manner, and put on her best fake smile.

"Daddy, I'm gonna head home, okay? Are you planning on coming home later, or are you planning on spending the night?" she asked the green sage with a convincing knock-off of one of her smiles.

"Well, I was just going to spend the night here, dear. But do you feel ill? Because if you do-"

"No, I'm just tired is all," she cut him off, yawning on cue.

"Okay dear. Well then, good night."

The green eyed mechanic gave her father a quick kiss on the cheek and left before any other enquiries could be made about her health and the fact that she was leaving only a little bit after nine.

She hopped on her zoomer and jetted as fast as she could, trying to ignore the destruction under her. Her apartment was in New Haven, not far from FL HQ. It was modestly sized, just big enough for herself in her father, and had a small garage underneath for her work. She missed her old one horribly, where she'd gotten her first job in this Mar forsaken city, rebuilt (or was it built?) the rift rider, had found Jak again...

She sighed again. She had to stop doing that, both the thinking about that jerk and the sighing; it was getting her nowhere. She pulled into the tiny garage, hopping off the zoomer and quickly walking upstairs to the flat. She changed into her PJ's at the speed of light and grabbed something made entirely of sugar from the kitchen. She picked up her favorite pillow off her bedroom floor and snuggled under the messy covers. Her room was modern and done in different shades of red. On one of the tables sat a odd looking cactus, which she had nick-named 'Snuggles'.

She flicked on the TV. She really wasn't in the mood for crying until she fell asleep, so the only other option besides working was channel surfing. Let's see, News, news, weather, sports, porn...wait what was that doing on there! Oh, never mind, it's just the hip-hop channel. Finally she gave up on the TV as a lost cause and figured she might as well go to sleep. Tomorrow, after everyone had got rid of their hangover of course, they'd need to start rebuilding the city. Again. So, she'd need her energy.

Try as she might, however, the girl had trouble falling asleep, for obvious reasons. So, even though she told herself not to, she started thinking about where her and Jak had gone wrong. What had made it end?

She racked her brains for a possible answer to this question. Well, they'd both changed for one thing. Jak had been tortured for two years of his life, changing him irreversibly. He was no longer the sweet, shy boy she had loved. He'd definitely matured. The boy back in Sandover village would never had hit on a girl, much less stared at her chest.

The best Kiera could figure was that they just grown apart. 'And as much as it had hurt to see him kiss another girl, I'll just have to get over it' she decided.

She let her mind wonder over to the governess. What she'd done to Torn had been just as bad as what Jak had done to her, maybe worse. The dread-locked commander was fiercely independent and kept to himself. To show even the smallest feeling about anyone was an enormous accomplishment for him. Kiera felt a surge of pity towards Torn. It was cruel, that's what it was. A nasty, bitchy thing to do.

She'd have to remember to be friendlier to him. He really wasn't that bad, he was just... quiet. And he'd opened that bottle for her, which she figured was sort of like his version of a sympathetic word.

"I need to sleep," she said to herself, and soon drifted into a thankfully dreamless sleep.

Early the next morning, while Kiera still slept another hour across town, Torn was up and getting ready for the day ahead. Now that the war was over, there would be some serious clean up going on. Again. He was glad he hadn't drank more last night. He'd have one hell of a hangover last time they'd had a party, and they'd all had to clean up then too. It hadn't been fun.

He figured now would be a good time for a shower, seeing as there was nobody around. That had been the only thing he hadn't liked about the old HQ: the lack of private bathrooms. He had used to go to ridiculous lengths to assure that he was the only one even remotely close when he wanted a shower. It wasn't like he was _shy_ or anything, he just...liked his privacy, yeah!

He also figured now would be a good time to wash his hair. Now, don't get him wrong, he washes it often, just not everyday. Those dreads are a pain in the ass to roll, even after doing it for years, so he'd go about three days, then take them out and wash them. He couldn't stand going without them being washed any longer; he'd start to twitch. He quickly unrolled each one, then when he was all done, combed the mahogany locks to get rid of the tanles. He then grabbed a towel and some clean clothes and headed to the showers.

Out of habit, he checked the other stalls for occupants, which there were none of. And after double locking all the doors, he proceeded to turn on the showers.

Hot water streamed down his tense muscles, making him sigh in relief. He took a while before actually washing to let himself relax. He, a lot like the rest of us, found he does some of his best thinking in the shower. Plans for the new layout of Haven flooded his mind. He had some good plans, he decided as he scrubbed away three days dirt, oil, and stress from his scalp.

Finally he figured it was time to get out before his skin got all red and wrinkly. He turned off the showers and walked into the adjacent bathroom to dry off. He wrapped a towel around his waist after he was dry and accidentally caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. He didn't like what he saw.

He was tall and way too thin, he concluded. The muscle that was present was too lean, built for speed, not strength. The thick black tatoos made designs all over his chest and arms, making his golden beige skin, in his opinion, look sickly. He hated everything. His arms and legs; too long to find sleeves big enough. And if he did find pants long enough, they were too big in the waist and hips and needed a belt to hold them up. And his face. That he hated, no loathed, most of all. He hated how smiles looked foreign on it, how it was angular, everything.

He sighed, turning away from the mirror. No time for self pity, he reminded himself. His hair, surprisingly thick and curly, needed to be rolled again.

After his hair was back in control and he was dressed, he decided it was time to leave his home and return to FL HQ. He had a lot of important things he needed to get done before the others arrived: clean up the staff table, draw up his plans for the new city, feed his fish, water his plants... Mar he was busy.

Unfortunately for his tight schedule, before the commander even made it to the end of the alley, disaster struck: His stomach growled.

'Dammit! I just have to have the metabolism of a dukoose!' he thought to himself. Oh, well, he could pick up some muffins or something on the way to HQ. There was a great place along the way.

I loved writing that shower scene! Oh, and I made up that dukoose, so Naughty Dog can have some! Lol. Sorry 'bout Kiera's part being so boring, but I had to get her out of that bar! Keep readin' and I'll have the next chappy out real soon!


	5. Chapter 5

How's it going? Finally, some romance! Just a taster, however, next chappy is where some real sexual tension starts, so tune in!

Disclaimer: If I owned the game, wouldn't this _be _the game, not fanfiction?

Mr. Brightside

Chapter 5

Do You Really Know the Muffin Man?

As the now-clean commander was grumbling about how fast his body digested food, a certain aqua-haired girl was just waking up.

'I **need** a latte' thought said girl as she dragged her little bum out of her nice warm bed. After going to the bathroom, she made her way slowly to the kitchen in order to obtain some caffeine. After stubbing her toe on the garbage can and uncharacteristically cursing a blue streak, she reached the fridge where she found...half a sandwich and a container of yogurt that was_ way_ past the expiration date.

'Oh yeah, I haven't went grocery shopping for about two weeks.' she remembered. Who has time to shop when the city you're living in is being torn apart by a bunch of animal things with some major ice on their heads and an army of shiny red robots?

"Looks like I'm eating out for breakfast," the grouchy mechanic mumbled to herself.

So, anticipating a nice, big, steaming cup of coffee, Kiera got up and got dressed in her normal attire, trying to brush her teeth and hair at the same time. By the time she was putting on her boots, her appetite had begun to kick in.

'I'll go to that one bakery with the really good donuts, it's not far from HQ,' thought the girl as she locked the door to her flat and set out into the practically empty street. She decided to walk today, since she doubted anyone would be at HQ this early, and she figured she could use the exercise any way. There were a few people out and about, most of the FL with the unlucky job of morning shift. They seemed to be removing the pieces of metal and debris from the canals running along the street. She liked the water, it reminded her of home, so she felt grateful towards the guys doing the cleaning.

The other people out on the street were either helping clean, or trying to get to work. One guy stood out amongst all the others. He wasn't doing much of anything, but leaning up against one of the walls, smoking a cigarette. He spotted Kiera and let out a low whistle as she walked past him.

Kiera tried her hardest to ignore him. Her destination, the True Haven bakery, was in sight and she just wanted to get her coffee without incident. This task became increasingly difficult as the guy had begun to yell some more, ahem, suggestive phrased at her, causing the little mechanic's knuckles to go white with rage.

Suddenly, she spun around on her heal and walked quickly over to the guy. Without warning, she punched the guy, right in the gut. The guy obviously shocked that this tiny little chick had just knocked the wind out of him, slumped against the wall, his mouth moving but no sound coming out.

Behind her, a few of the people had started to clap. Blushing, Kiera turned around in order to get to the bakery before anything else happened that could mortify her.

But, apparently today wasn't he r day, because as she looked towards where she wanted to go, not two buildings from where she was now, she saw something that made her face go pale. Leaning casually on one of the beams that held up the awning, was an oddly amused looking Torn, joining in on the clapping.

'There's no doubt about it, Mar hates me.' she thought.

An extremely hungry Torn had finally made it to where his breakfast lied, the True Haven bakery. The place had the best bake goods he'd ever tasted in his life and he could inhale a batch of their banana-nut muffins in one sitting. The smell of fresh bread wafted from the building, making his mouth water. He was just about to open the door when something caught his eye; a bob of aquamarine hair. Kiera.

He wasn't sure what he should do; say hi? Ignore her? Run! He couldn't say hi, that would creep her out. But he didn't want to be rude, surely she'd seen him. And running was for cissies, which he wasn't!

Before the commander could decide whether or not to act moderately friendly, something happened. Some guy had whistled a Kiera.

Now, Torn could find threats and bar fights funny, could call a random guy on the street every name in the book, but one thing set him off above all else: disrespecting a lady. That's just something a guy doesn't do. Ever. Especially someone he knows. Then, to dig himself further in a ditch, the asshole starts hitting on her. Torn, was, pissed!

Fortunately for the man, and Torn's murder record, the commander wasn't able to use the dagger that had conveniently found it's way to his hand. Kiera had got to him first. Torn was surprised the small mechanic could hit that hard.

Some of the people had started to clap, and he was surprised to find himself joining them. He leaned against a pole outside the bakery, curious to see what she'd do next. She turned around and looked to where he was. She looked absolutely mortified, and he had trouble not laughing as she headed towards him.

After concluding that Mar really did hate her, Kiera walked towards the bakery. She'd seen him and he knew it, so she couldn't tuck tail and run now.

The closer she got, the more he smirked. And the more he smirked, the more she found herself thinking she should punch guys out more often when he was around. He looked kinda hot when he smirked, she supposed. Well, it was better than a scowl any ways.

Torn had opened his mouth and was about to say something when she held up a hand to silence him.

"Don't even say it," she said with a half-hearted glare. He was still smirking.

"Wasn't gonna," he replied. He reached over and opened the door to the bakery for her, giving an exaggerated bow. This gesture was actually an attempt to annoy her further, but the only thing it made her do was giggle.

"What?" he stood up straight, only to find a smiling Kiera looking back at him. For some odd reason, this made stomach do a somersault. She was really pretty when she smiled.

"It's nothing," she replied, still smiling, "You just don't seem like the joking type, that's all." With that she walked through the door, which Torn was still holding open.

Torn followed her in, his appetite rekindled by the aroma of freshly baked scones. At the counter, Kiera was already ordering.

"I'll have a grande mocha latte and, how about an apple cinnamon bear claw, please." she asked the cashier, a rather spotty teenage girl who seemed addicted to fake tanning. The girl rang up her order without much enthusiasm, proclaiming her order to be number "14".

Torn, being he was next, stepped up to the cashier, who oddly enough, had found a new love of her job and began to spout out the café's mantra (Welcome to the True Haven Bakery, home of the Gianormus Muffin, available in 16 flavors! How may I help you?) in a fashion that made her look like she was an over excited game show contestant. Finally, Torn spoke.

"Um, I'll take the largest coffee you've got, err, two banana-nut muffins, a croissant, and uhh, four of those chocolate pastry, um, thingies. Oh, and throw in a couple of almond Biscotti, too." The, ahem, slightly hungry commander glanced up from the jar holding said Biscotti to find all patrons and staff within hearing distance looking at him with eyes the size of dinner plates. Krew sized dinner plates.

"Will that be, um, all, sir?" asked the orange toned girl serving him, a bemused look on he face.

"Yeah, for now," he replied, still aware of the people staring.

"Well, in that case, here's your number, and mine's on the back of your receipt," said the teen with a batting of the lashes.

A person behind him elbowed Torn away in order to get to the front of the line and Torn was pushed over next to a laughing Kiera. Torn took on an indignant look.

"What was so funny about that?" he asked with a mild glare.

"Where does all that food go? You eat as much for breakfast as I do in a week!" she replied, mercifully leaving out the part about the girl hitting on him.

He just rolled his eyes and moved over to the spot that said 'Pick Up' when their numbers were called.

Once both breakfasts were secured, Kiera suggested they just walk to HQ together, since they were both going to the same place. Truthfully, she was still hurt from 'the kiss' and wanted to be near someone who understood her. It wasn't like she expected them to have a big heart-to-heart that ended with them both crying and eating a tub of fudge ripple ice cream; that would be plain weird. But some company would be nice.

Torn just shrugged his shoulders, although he was secretly glad he didn't have to walk alone.

They walked in silence for a few moments, until Kiera, not being able to take the silence anymore, asked him the question he'd been dreading.

"Torn, are you alright?"

It may not have sounded clear to a passerby, but the dread-locked man knew exactly what she was talking about.

"Of course," he said giving a, hopefully, convincing eye roll, "Why should I care if Ashelin got a new boyfriend? There was never anything between us."

Kiera didn't believe him, so she tested him some more.

"So, you _really_ don't care that my jerk of an ex stuck his tongue down Ashelin's throat? Not at all?"

Twitch. That's when she knew, no matter how many times he'd deny it, he did love her. He did care.

"No, not at all," he said. Then, going on the offensive, he added, "And I suppose you don't care that Jak dumped you in order to get laid either?"

He flinched. He hadn't meant for it to come out so harsh . He'd just been trying to get her off his back, not hurt her.

She'd stopped and was starring at the ground, desperately trying to hold back tears. Then, she looked back up at him and said, "Okay, so I DO care! I'd loved him since we were like eight and he just left me for some bimbo with huge boobs! I can't help it, okay!"

She'd let the tears flow freely down her face now, making small streams down her pale cheeks.

Torn was feeling horrible now. He'd gone and made her cry and all she'd been trying to do was help him. So, he did the only thing that came to mind at that moment- he hugged her. And she in return hugged him back, sobbing into his chest. He wasn't sure what he should do now that she was latched onto him and he was starting to feel awkward. So he just patted her back for a few minutes, then he decided he had to apologize.

"Look, I'm sorry for being so harsh. I deserve to get the wind knocked out of me like you 'admirer' back there."

This earned him a, slightly damp, giggle.

"Don't cry over that jerk, okay? He doesn't deserve you. You're much to good for him," Torn told her with a serious look on his face

Kiera wiped her eyes and gave him a big smile.

"Thanks Torn. I feel better now. Come on, let's take our time getting to HQ, I've got some hilarious stories you just have to hear."

jeez, this chapter took forever to type!


	6. Laughter is the Best Medicine

Hi all! I'll forewarn you, this chappy's kinda short, but it needed to be written. I should be able to get a few more chapters updated this weekend, since it's a 4 dayer! D

disclaimer: this is ridiculous...

Mr. Brightside

Chapter 6

Laughter is the Best Medicine

"And then she tried throwing it away and it hit our captain!"

Kiera was near tears from laughing so hard. She and Torn had been walking around the streets of New Haven for an hour or so now, talking about various things. Kiera told him about her life back in Sandover; what he home was like, how beautiful the ocean was, and, most importantly, all the embarrassing stuff Jak and Daxter had done.

Torn told her a little bit about his past, but stayed vague about certain topics; his parents, how he'd came to be in the guard, and why he'd left. She didn't press him for info, though. She knew some things people just didn't want to share with everyone. She did, however, hear some of his funnier stories about Ashelin. Who knew Mr. Hard ass had a sense of humor?

They were nearing the FLHQ now. Kiera didn't have a watch, but judging by the sun, they should probably get to work. Although, she'd bet her cactus on it no one else had even dragged their hung over butts out of bed yet.

Torn opened the door to HQ for her, and they stepped onto the elevator together. Kiera was still grinning from his story and Torn had a small smirk on his face.

"I don't think Ashelin wanted anyone hearing about her screw-ups back from her training days." She looked up at him with her beautiful green eyes sparkling.

"And I doubt Jak wanted his _commander_ to hear all about his ridiculous fear of wumpbees, and I feel the deepest regret in finding it out, but I fear think they'll understand," Torn replied looking mockingly serious. Kiera burst out laughing. The tough ex-KG had a sarcastic sense of humor and an excellent poker face; a funny combination.

The elevator reached the top floor and the doors opened. Kiera still had a large smile on her face, lighting up the entire room. She looked towards the staff table in the center of the room and thought, 'Looks like I'm lacking cacti at the moment.'

The entire FL, well her friends anyway, were standing around the staff table chatting and drinking coffee, obviously getting over their hangovers. Jak and Ashelin were wrapped around each other, and both looked up just in time to see a giggling Kiera and a smirking Torn enter. _Together_.

Everyone's eyebrows were raised, obviously caught off guard by this odd turn of events.

"Where the heck have you guys been? It's almost noon!" asked a suspicious Daxter. Why had they come in _together_? And why in the name of all that was holy, namely him, had Kiera been _laughing_!

"I was about to ask the same thing." Everyone turned to stare at a surly looking Jak. The blonde savior had unlatched himself from a moody governess and was now sending a glare Torn's way. What was that dread-locked loser trying to pull? He'd better not be hitting on Kiera, she was...not with him anymore. Oh yeah.

"We've been getting breakfast," replied Kiera, who had composed herself and was now sending a glare at the goateed idiot. How _dare_ he look at Torn that way after what he had done! "Is that a problem?"

"Getting breakfast?" Daxter grinned in that horribly evil, pervy way that only he could grin. "Did you two need refueling after a long night?"

The aqua-haired girl ignored his comment. She'd know that was coming the moment the words had left her mouth. It was Daxter we're talking about here, of course he'd make a crude comment!

"What!" This statement had come from an angry looking Jak, who'd stood up so fast, his chair had slid across the floor a few feet.

"Yes Jak, breakfast. That's what it's called when you eat food in the morning. We saw each other in the bakery and, since we were going the same place, decided to walk here together. Now, will someone tell us what's up already?"

Torn had to admit, he was impressed at her comeback. She'd stood up to that guy, who by the way had no business glaring at him. That and the part about explaining breakfast could

ve come straight from his own mouth.

"Sure. Well, there's been an accident down in the sewers," answered Sig. The wastelander had to laugh silently at the little mechanic's spunk. Ol' Chilipeppers had been _way_ out of line on that last one. He cleared his throat and continued. "A coupla our guys went down there to clear out any trouble. They cleaned 'em out, but the can't get back up 'cause the elevator got broke from a stray shot."

Sig stopped for a moment, walking around the table towards Kiera..

"That's where you come in Little Wrench Jockey. There's a passage through some of the narrow vents. You should be able to get to the elevator through them and fix it."

Sig stopped in front of her and raised an eyebrow as if to say 'well, what do you think?'

"Cool. Just tell me how to get to the passage and I can have the elevator back on track in no time," she answered his unasked question with a smile.

"Hold your leapers now," he continued, subconsciously noting how sweet her smile looked. "There could still be a few nasties down there, so I'd suggest you take Chilipeppers," he nodded towards Jak, " or Dr. Dread over there," he nodded again, this time at Torn, "with you to watch your back. I'd go take 'em down myself, but I wouldn't fit through the vents." Sig finished with a light shrug.

Kiera was a little mad that Sig didn't think she could handle herself, but he hadn't meant anything from it so she didn't dwell on it.

"Okay, let's go Torn. I need to swing by and grab my tool box from the garage." she said, heading towards the door.

"Wait Kiera," She stopped and turned around to find Jak walking towards her. "Maybe I should go with you instead. I've been down there before and those things can get pretty nasty. It could get bad." he finished with a slightly arrogant look on his face.

Kiera was pissed now. He had no right to even talk to her until he explained himself and he especially couldn't treat her as though she was a weak little girl. She could handle herself, she had two years of survival in this hell hole to attest to that, and there was a guy hanging around a bakery in NH that could bare witness to her wrath. She would've told him all this had someone else not beat her to the punch.

"Yeah, I think I can use a gun by now and can handle a few 'nasties', but thanks for your concern," said Torn with an eye roll. Jak sent him a glare, which was returned 10x by the recipient. Even Jak had to back down from that. It was just plain scary.

"Come on, let's go find that passage and fix that elevator before sundown," Kiera interrupted, grabbing Torn's, rather nice might she add, arm and steering him towards the exit. A gasp was heard from behind them followed by a low, but distinctly female, growl. Without looking back, they got on the elevator, leaving a stunned and amused FL behind them.

Give ya a cyber muffin if you can guess who gasped! The next chappy should be up soon and you can expect some serious sexual tension between our two leads! (It involves them both being sweaty, I'll give ya that!) Lol. R&R pleez!


	7. Feeling Hot, hot ,hot!

Hey everybody! Finally, some real romance! Well, some flirting and a lot of checking the other person out, but same diff! This chapter's pretty long compared to the others, it took up 22 pages in my notebook! They usually only take about 10 tops. Any ways, on with the story!

Disclaimer: Boy do I wish I owned Torn! But I don't. That makes me sad!

Mr. Brightside

Chapter 7

Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot!

"Can you believe him! Getting all pissed 'cause I'm not pining over his sorry excuse for an ass!"

Kiera hurled her tool box into the back of the zoomer.

"Err, Kiera, maybe you should-"

"And Mar for forbid I do something without him breathing down my neck! I swear, if I'd had a peace maker I-"

She stopped her tirade abruptly and looked over to whom she'd been ranting to.

"Uhh, sorry Torn. I didn't mean to shout."

"That's okay, I didn't need both eat drums," the aforementioned commander stated, removing his hands from his long pointy ears and gingerly wiggling them.

"Come on, let's get to that passage before those guys die of boredom," the mechanic said, hopping inside the zoomer.

So, with both tool box and hearing in toe, they took off towards the entrance to the sewers. It wasn't far from where the elevator was, wedged in between two pieces of the wall. It was a large vent about two feet off the ground and five feet high. Steam came from the grate covering it, adding an extra sense of foreboding.

Before she could retrieve her screwdriver from the tool box, Torn proceeded to rip the grate from it's hinges. Her eyes were the size of tires when he looked back. His cheeks turned a light shade of shell pink as he gestured to the now open vent and said, "Um, uh, ladies first?"

"Anger issues much?" Kiera replied, secretly enjoying the show of strength. Who knew lean muscle could do _that_? "And I'm not going in there first. Everyone seems to think I need a body guard, so do your job and guard me," she said with a sarcastic tone.

"Okay, okay, I'm going. But I think you could take on Kor himself if you were angry enough. _I_ have anger issues! Sheesh!"

She gave a faint smile at his obscured compliment. At least someone thought she could hold her own.

Torn, being exceptionally tall, had to bend over at an odd angle in order to fit inside. This action gave Kiera a terrific view of his perfect posterior, something many women would commit murder to get. She had to admit, she was using this opportunity to the fullest. 'Damn I wish I'd brought a camera! I could make a few bucks selling them to all the female FL members!'

"Well, are you coming? This isn't very comfortable you know!" Torn said, turning around to face her. He, of course, realized what she was looking at and blushed again, this time more of a strawberry cream colour. Kiera noticed this and gave a shrug and a guilty smile.

"Okay, I'm coming! This tool box isn't exactly a pillow ya know," she said, getting in behind him.

He was still blushing as he walked forward, thinking, 'She wasn't – she couldn't have been – could she? Yeah right! That Biscotti must've gone to my head! Girls don't check you out Torn, get over it!'

As they walked deeper into the quickly darkening passage, the vent got taller, thankfully, and they also began to notice how much the temperature was rising.

"Torn?"

"Yeah?"

"Why is it getting so hot in this thing? It's like a sauna!" croaked Kiera. Boy, did she wish she'd brought some water!

"Well," Torn replied, his voice equally hoarse (not that you could really tell since it was always like that), " a lot of the homes in this part of the city use the steam to heat their homes. It comes from some underground hot springs or something, I guess."

"That's all fine and dandy, but wasn't there another way to get to those guys! My shirt is totally soaked!" Normally, she wouldn't complain, but her tank top was white after all.

"How do you think I feel?" he countered testily, "I have a long sleeved shirt on _and_ I'm haulin' 30 lb of weapons and ammo on my back!" This revelation was meant to get her to shut up, but instead it provoked another one of her own.

"Duh, Torn! _You_ can take your shirt off, so _you_ have no room to complain!"

Torn blushed for a third time that day (he'd have to stop that ASAP). "I can't take my shirt off!"

"And why not?" she asked, her voice sounding testy now.

"Well, um, err, it's uhh...Because!" was his perfectly logical explanation. 'Mar Torn, you have_ such_ a way with words!'

"Because wh–" Kiera stopped abruptly as realization dawned on her. She gave an evil grin. "Torn, you're not _shy_ are you?"

"N-no! I just, err, don't... want to be rude is all, yeah!"

She rolled her eyes. "Rude? Do you have an undershirt on under the long-sleeved one?"

"Yeah, but it's all wet too." Why in the name of the fuzzy little precursors did he have to grab the too small muscle tank this morning? He couldn't have put on a normal baggy t-shirt today, oh no! He _had_ to be different!

"Does it really matter? It's your _arms_, it's not like you're gonna strip down!" She was grinning again, " Admit it. Mr. Tough Rebel Leader doesn't want to take his shirt off in front of a _girl_."

This, sadly, was true. If it'd been another guy he wouldn't have liked it, but he'd take it off any ways; it was friggin' hot in there! But he wasn't about to tell her that.

"Okay! I'll take the dang thing off, just so you'll see **I'm NOT Shy!**" And with that said he began to remove the weapons and spare ammo from his back in order to get it off.

Kiera was finding this highly amusing. Despite his convictions of the contrary, she could tell he _did_ have trouble with his body image and, she'd bet, interacting with the opposite gender, as well. Man, she'd have hours of fun teasing him about this!

It was too dark to really see him any ways, so why was he so embarrassed? Did he have a third nipple or something? She'd have to find out later.

"There, are you happy now?" he said tossing his heavy shirt on the ground; he could come back for it later. 'For the love of Mar Torn, it's dark! So, why are you blushing again!' He was arguing with himself, a bad habit. The first voice was right, it was dark and she couldn't see him. 'Does it matter? A _gorgeous_ girl is right behind us and we have no shirt on besides a wife beater that's too small! We're asking for disaster!' a second voice said. Sometimes he swore he had a mental health problem.

"See, much cooler! Why you wear that heavy thing any ways is a mystery to me. By the way, why didn't these guys just go out the way were coming in? Wouldn't it save time?" she asked, still curious about her whole third nipple theory.

"Well, the end of this passage leads to a 7ft drop into the hot springs I mentioned earlier," he mentioned, happy for a change in subject, "It's actually quicker for us to get in than them to get out."

"Wait, we have to fall into a hot spring?" she asked incredulously, " and get _wet_!"

"Well, normally you get a _tad_ bit wet when going in water, but–"

"Torn!" she yelled, annoyed by his sarcasm.

He laughed. "Yes Kiera, you will get wet. Don't worry, the water's warm."

"It's not the water I'm worried about," she retorted hotly, "in case you hadn't noticed, I'm a _girl_!"

"Really! I was under the impression you were just a young boy with unusually gay eyelashes and a strangely curved body! This explains a lot."

"TORN!" she shouted again, then lowered her voice a few decibels when he flinched and covered his ears, "I'm a girl and I'm wearing a skimpy _white_ tank top! Catch my drift!"

"Do you take me as a perv?" he said in an offended manner.

"Not you. I trust you," this statement caused his stomach to do that weird flipping this again, "It's the other guys I'm talking about."

"Believe me, that won't try anything while I'm around. Promise." He'd smack whoever did upside the head for her.

"Okay, I guess I can go along with that," she replied.

"You don't have a choice any way, we're here."

They were now overlooking a pool of clear blue water, which was admitting more steam than ever. Kiera glanced over to her left and got a good look at Torn in the brighter light. If she hadn't been hot before, she was smokin' now.

The tank he had on was sticking to his muscles, so it might as well not have been there at all. Every inch of skin was toned to perfection. His shoulders, usually hidden under baggy layers and guns were surprisingly strong for his lean frame. His chest seemed to be chiseled from marble, and his stomach show-cased a gorgeous eight-pack. She watched as one of his long, lean arms moved a rather large hand up to swipe a piece of dark hair that had escaped his dreads away from his face. Golden skin, covered in different designs of black ink, glowed under a sheen of sweat.

'Ashelin–was–insane!'

While he was being ogled, Torn obliviously surveyed the small cavern for trouble. Seeing none, he turned to Kiera to see if she was ready to jump, only to find her licking her lips and, for the lack of a better phrase, checking out his chest. He blushed some more before saying, "Um, Earth to Kiera, can you hear me?"

This snapped her out of her revere, and she too blushed (a delicate shade of soft pink) and said, "Oh, um, I, uhh, yeah?"

"Do you want me to jump first? The water's about 10ft deep I'd estimate."

"Please do," she replied, her dislike of heights coming back and overpowering her lust.

"Okay," he said before jumping in and performing a perfect jack-knife. He came up from the water and pushed his soaked dreads out of his face, then yelled up to her, "Water feels great. Drop your tool box down here and then jump in."

She did as she was told and dropped her tools from the vent, which made a large 'splash!' Not wanting to be out done, she performed a nice swan dive.

"Lovely," he said with an eyebrow raised as she resurfaced.

"Shut up," she countered with an eye roll, but a smile was on her face. The water felt really good, the perfect temperature for relaxing, or swimming around, or... 'fooling around, especially with your sexy bodyguard' thought a naughty part of her brain.

She shook her head to clear it of that particular notion and started towards dry ground. When she got to it, she remembered about her shirt and, sure enough, it was plastered to her chest like Daxter to a porno.

Torn had noticed this too and was having another inner voice argument.

'Nice. I could tighten her bolts alright!'

'She seventeen you perv!'

'So?'

'So, we could get arrested for that!'

'By who? Our self?'

'That's not the point, we promised her!'

'Yeah, but we're her bodyguard, we need to protect that curvy little frame of her's, and she might need some comforting still, if ya catch my drift.'

'You are such a–'

'Shut up both of you! I'm getting a headache! ...Oh great, I'm arguing with myself again. I need to see a shrink.'

Torn turned back to the situation at hand, finding the right passage. They walked forward through the sewers, side by side, not talking. Every once in a while, that pervy voice would speak up again.

'She's hot. Seriously, she's got to be hotter than Ashelin.'

'Her boobs look great in that top!'

'She's really tiny, bet she's _really_ flexible too.'

'Think what those mechanic's hand could do...oh mar...'

He was about to bash his head in with a pipe lying on the ground when he heard it. A foot step. He reacted immediately, spinning around and shooting three times. All were direct hits.

Behind them were now eight metal heads, circling them from all sides. Torn shot some again, killing three more, but the others were quicker, going for the weakest link. Kiera.

Kiera had been surprised when Torn had whirled around and shot a metal head. She was even more surprised to find eight more coming at them. Torn had gotten a few of them, but he couldn't get one of the quicker ones, which was coming after her. She heard Torn curse as the beast ran at her; he wasn't able to shoot it in the fear that it would hit her. She was able to dodge it by rolling over so it ran into the wall. Beside her, she saw an old lead pipe and she grabbed it. As soon as she was up, it was charging her again. She didn't know what to do, the other metal heads had ganged up on Torn and she hadn't thought about asking him for a gun. It was getting closer, closer, closer, and then...

**Smack!**

Out of pure instinct, she had hit it as hard as she could when it opened it'd mouth to tear into her. This action caused it's jaw to break with a sickening 'crunch'. It's mouth hung wide open, making it howl in pain. She took this moment of it's distraction and hit it again, right between the eyes. It swayed a little and she jammed the pipe as far as she could push it into it's sagging mouth, all the way to the back of the throat. This blow severed it's spinal cord and killed it.

Torn had taken down the other creatures and had turned to fire at the last one, praying Kiera was all right. He turned just in time to see her take the first swing at it. He watched as she broke it's jaw, then killed it while it was looking the other way. He was impressed.

"Kiera! Mar, are you alright? I'm so sorry, they ganged up on me and..." he yelled as he ran over to her. She was leaning against the wall, looking down at the dead beast.

She looked up at him, smiling, "Yeah, I'm okay. But, I actually killed one! Me! The weak little mechanic! I'd love to see the look on everyone's faces if they'd seen that!" She was beaming at him now.

"Yeah," he said smiling back at her, " Jak's face would be priceless. Sorry about letting that one get to ya, though. But, you did a great job, any ways, I shouldn't have worried at all." she was looking at him oddly now, " By the way, the next time you go to hit something with a pipe or staff or something," he gestured for her to come over to him, "make sure you hold t more towards the center, about 1/3 of the way to the end," he adjusted her grip on the pipe, "You'll use up less of your energy, but you'll hit harder."

She was still looking at him funny. "Where'd you learn that?"

"I, um, trained at a temple when I was around fifteen, and one of my favorite weapons was a bo staff. Well, next to a sword, but, uhh..."

He was babbling. Why was he babbling? Maybe it was because they were still standing really close. Or maybe because that voice inside his head was talking about some illegal stuff again. Or maybe it was because she was smiling up at him through her lashes and he was blushing again. Either way, he had to stop.

"Um, we should probably get going," he broke the contact, flushed now more than ever.

"K, just let me grab the skull gem. No one's going to believe this."

Wow, that was a whopper of a chapter! I think it's adorable how Torn gets all shy! Any ways, it was fun to write, was it fun to read? Tell me! Review gosh darnnit, review! Lol.


	8. Thoughtless

Thanks to all my reviewers, you guys rock my socks! Lol. Any ways, here's the next chapter!

Disclaimer: all I own is my handy dandy notebook and my mind, both of which are filled to the brim with insanity. So don't sue, that's all you'll get!

Mr. Brightside

Chapter 8

In too Deep

+ part I +

"So where did you train?"

Torn looked over to the asker of this question, an eyebrow raised. "Why?

"Because I want to know." Kiera responded. Her curiosity was tweaked by his mentioning of training.

"Well, it was in a temple somewhere outside the city, up north."

"What was it like? Tell me about it!"

He looked over at her curiously.

"Well, the temple was pretty small. It was in a grove in the forest, surrounded by trees for miles. There were monks there, about a dozen all together, who trained us."

He paused and looked back in front of him. Normally, he hated talking about his life to anyone. Well, normally he hated talking period. But he really didn't mind talking to her. She wasn't being nibby, but she seemed generally interested.

"Go on! What was the training like?" she prompted. She didn't know much about his past and she didn't want him to quit talking now.

"Uh, well, training was strict. We got up every morning at dawn and ran along a path in the forest."

He remembered sprinting across the rocky, mountainous terrain for miles in the crisp cool air. He'd loved the rush he got from racing with the other students, feeling the wind against his face as he ran ahead of the others. A small smile crept onto his face.

"Then we sparred with each other for a few hours. After that, the monks showed us different techniques. We learned to use, let's see," he held up his hand and counted them off, "the bo staff, halbert, bow and arrow, heavy sword, light sword, double sword, dagger, and some other stuff too. Basically everything but guns," he frowned, " we never learned those. Not there.

"Then," he continued, "we'd have to show what we learned. Every moon cycle all the monks would gather and watch the students fight each other. If you won, you'd receive another mark. If you lost, they'd take one away."

"Wait," she interrupted him, "what do you mean 'mark'? It's not something gross is it? 'Cause if it is, I don't want to know."

He laughed at the look on her face, a mix of apprehension and curiosity. "Getting a mark meant you got another section of your hair rolled. Once you got ten, your training was complete. What did you think I meant?" he teased.

"I've seen some weird documentaries about cults when I couldn't sleep, so sue me!...Wait, that means you've completed your training, right? Cool!" she grinned up at him

"Yeah, I completed it about six years ago." he said.

"How long did it take?"

"Around a year." He was tempted to tell her he held the record for finishing in the least time, but he didn't want to sound like a show off. "I would've been done sooner, but the monks said that tricking a guy into knocking himself out didn't count as a fair fight since I didn't use any weapons."

She giggled and asked, "_How_ did you manage that?"

He smirked and said, "I'll save that story for later, we're here."

Sure enough, a large metal door blocked their way into the room that lead to the elevator, and voices could be heard on the other side.

"Shh, I think I heard something!"

"What if it's more metal heads! I'm running low on ammo!"

"I wish there was a bathroom down here!"

"The Freedom League's best and brightest," Torn mumbled to Kiera, rolling his eyes. She laughed at his obvious annoyance. He walked up and knocked on the door.

One of the men screamed like a little girl.

"W-who's there?" one asked in a shaky voice.

"It's a big, bad metal head here to rip you all to shreds," he said monotonously. Then his tone got sharp and commanding. "It's Torn you morons! Who do you think it is?"

The door flew open and about nine guys stood up and saluted him.

"Sir, we're glad you're here, sir! The elevator is broke and we don't know how to fix it, sir!"

"At ease men. We're here to fix it and then we all can get out of here," Torn told his men.

"Wait, 'we're' here? Who's–"

"Hi boys! Don't worry, I'll have this baby up and running in no time," Kiera said smiling around her.

All the soldiers suddenly stood up straighter and smoothed their hair down. Kiera found this too funny, and had to hold in her laughter. Instead she continued to smile until she heard a voice she dreaded from over in the corner.

"Well, if it isn't the cute little mechanic ol' Jaky boy's got the hots for," said Jinx, smoking on one of his putrid cigars, "How's it going, baby? You look," he glanced down at her still damp chest, "_perky_."

Before she could throw the tool box she was carrying at his big, stupid head, Torn sent a glare Jinx's way and said, "Jinx, just for today, can you not be yourself? Just this once."

"Just teasing, Torn, no need to get angry. Want her all for yourself, ehh?"

This time it was Torn who was interrupted by Kiera, who, instead of throwing the whole tool box, settled for chucking a small screwdriver at him. It hit him square on the nose.

Jinx yelped and grabbed his nose, mumbling under his breath about 'green haired chicks and their tempers.' A few of the soldiers laughed and Torn was smirking as Kiera went into the elevator to get started.

She hadn't been surprised by Jinx's advance; he'd always been an ass. He'd come in to 'get his zoomer tuned up' and stare at her boobs the whole time. She'd given him a black eye one time when he'd grabbed her butt as she bent down to remove a faulty plug. 'He never learns.'

/T/

Torn would've killed Jinx, but Kiera's method worked too. He'd had to fight a blush off his face when he'd made that one comment; thankfully, no one noticed. Besides, if the jerk tried something again, his men needed a new moving object for target practice since the ottsel sign had got totaled.

The pyrotechnitian was currently sitting over in the corner, watching Kiera fix the elevator with his beady little eyes. Torn was scowling at him, daring him to try anything. Jinx licked his lips when she bent over to grab something from her tool box, undressing her with his eyes. Torn's hand casually went to his knife and he began to examine its deadly sharp blade.

Jinx glanced over and saw this. Their eyes met and Torn raised his eyebrow as if to say, 'go ahead, try something. You'll regret it.' After this exchange, Jinx went back to staring at his boots.

/N/

The problem with the elevator was simple to fix and only took about fifteen minutes to figure out. Kiera pushed her bangs out of her eyes and gave a satisfied smile.

"Okay boys, it should be up and running now," she said as she walked back out into the room, wiping her hands on an old rag.

Some of the men cheered; one even shed a tear. Everyone climbed onto the platform and the doors shut automatically. The ride up was smooth, owing to Kiera's great mechanics skills. When they reached the top, all the guys thanked her and began to leave. Jinx was headed her way. Damn.

"Nice work girly," was all he said before he turned away from her. Thinking he'd finally learned, she was about to walk away when he disproved her theory by grabbing her butt and squeezing it.

She was about to take a monkey wrench to his skull, when a long, extremely sharp dagger was held at his throat. Torn looked absolutely livid.

"Look, you freakin' bastard, she's not interested, okay! Don't you dare touch her again! If you do, I'll not hesitate to beat your scrawny ass to a bloody pulp and then throw it into prison for the rest of your sorry existence! Do I make myself clear!"

Jinx looked utterly terrified. The cool metal of Torn's blade was pressed so tightly to his neck, if he even talked he'd slit his own throat. He was shaking, as were some of the soldiers; they'd never seen their commander lose it like this before and it scared them.

Kiera's feelings were mixed. Yeah, it was pretty scary to see Torn get that angry, but in a way, she was flattered. He was threatening a guy in her honor, it was sort of a messed up kind of sweet. But she couldn't let him actually kill the jerk; he'd have to arrest himself if he did.

"Torn, let him go. I doubt he'll try it again," she said, putting a slender hand on his shoulder, "will he?" she asked as he let Jinx go.

Jinx shook his head and ran towards his parked zoomer, now afraid to even look at her.

She turned back to Torn.

"Thanks Torn, it was really nice of you to do that for me. He'll finally leave me alone now!" she said with a smile at him.

"No problem, he deserved it," Torn replied, a light flush coming to his cheeks from the praise.

"Yo, Kiera, Torn, over here!"

Both looked over to find Tess, Daxter, Sig, Jak and Ashelin walking towards them. Kiera realized her hand was still on his shoulder and quickly removed it.

As they got closer, the group noticed some odd things, which Daxter was quick to point out.

"Why are you both wet? And Torn, where is you shirt?" He was grinning that way again, he was up to something.

Oddly enough, it was Sig who answered.

"They had to jump into a hot spring in order to get to the sewers, that's why they're wet," he told the others. Torn and Kiera nodded in agreement. Then his face took on a mischievous grin, " But that doesn't explain why your shirt's missing in action Dr. Dreads."

'I hate you Mar.'

"Well, it was, uhh, really hot down there, so I, um, got rid of it," Torn told them, forcing himself not to blush in front of the guys. He could fee three pairs of female eyes scoping him out.

"A likely story," Daxter countered, still grinning like the idiot he was, "If you ask me you were 'getting breakfast' again."

Sig and Daxter both laughed, while Ashelin and Jak looked surly. Kiera and Torn just rolled their eyes, fighting the twin blushes trying to surface.

Ashelin was glaring a hole through Kiera's head and it was making her mad. She'd stole _her_ boyfriend, not the other way around. She should be the one trying to kill her with a dirty look. She could go to hell! Just to piss her off some more, Kiera took a step closer to Torn. Ashelin's hand rested on her pistol. 'Pay backs a bitch, huh?' Kiera thought.

+ part II +

(Earlier that afternoon)

Jak was pacing around HQ, glaring at everything that dared be in his presence at that moment. He was angry: at Ashelin, at Torn, at the bright sunlight giving him a headache, and most of all, he was angry at himself.

When he'd walked away from the battle with the Dark Makers unhurt and alive, he'd been so pumped with adrenaline...and Ashelin had been there and had tempted him for months... he just kissed her. He'd known it was wrong, but he hadn't cared at the time.

Then everyone had gone back to the Naughty Ottsel for a party, congratulating him and egging him on. It got even worse when he got piss drunk. His mind had been so fuzzy, he couldn't tell one person from the next. So he danced with the governess, both intoxicated out of their minds.

He didn't realize the full extent of what he'd done until he woke up the next morning to find Ashelin curled up next to him in his bed. Oh Mar, what had he done? Kiera...shit! She'd never forgive him now! His head was pounding from all he'd drank the night before, so he did the worst possible thing he could do to help his situation: he drank some more.

That's why when Kiera had walked in with Torn, he'd got so mad. He let Daxter's comments get to him and as a result, lashed out and acted like a total ass to her. He'd had no right to be jealous, especially of something that hadn't even happened. He knew she'd never do something like that just to hurt him. 'I'd deserve it if she did, though,' he thought to himself as he and the others walked to where she, Torn, and the others would be coming out.

'I need to find some way to apologize. Maybe then she'll take me back.'

One major problem came to mind, however: Ashelin. She was way more into him than he was into her. She wouldn't let him go that easily.

'I'll deal with her later. First, I need Kiera to forgive me.'

will Kiera ever forgive him? Will Ashelin ever stop being so bitchy? Will the authoress ever get asked to the friggin' Snowball! Ahem, sorry. R&R please.

Heads up: this story's coming to a close folks, but have no fear, there's going to be a sequel! More later on that if you review.


	9. This is Where a Clever Title Goes

Hey! I haven't updated for, like, a week! Sorry, but school's been really hectic and my track coach is trying to whip me into shape, so I'm beat! Any ways, I just checked my email and finally read some of the replies I got and I wanted to say thanks to you guys! This story is coming to a close (I think) , but I have a whole 'nother story in my head branching off from this one, plus one about Torn's past and some in other categories. Ok, I'll quit talking now.

Disclaimer: same as all the other chapters

Mr. Brightside

Chapter 9

This is Where a Clever Title Goes

"Kiera, are you _sure_ you're alright?"

She smiled down at her friend.

"Yes, Tess, _I'm_ fine, what about _you_? You got turned into an ottsel!"

The now furry girl shrugged her small shoulders and smiled.

"Well, it's sorta weird, I guess. At least I get to be closer to Daxter now," she shot a glance at her hero, who was currently partaking in a drinking contest between Sig, Pecker, and Himself, and losing. The she-ottsel looked back at Kiera, a stern look on her face.

"Quit trying to change the subject!"

Kiera sighed, her mind replaying the events of that evening.

/fl/

As it turns out, the reason Tess, Sig, and the others had come to meet her and Torn was that the precursors were getting ready to leave. The walk back to the port was spent with Torn retelling the events of their mission to Sig, who wanted to here every gory detail. When he got to the part where Kiera killed her metal head, he paused.

"Then, one of the suckers rounded on Kiera. She didn't miss a beat, picking up a pipe on the ground and smacking it when it opened up its mouth, which broke its jaw. Then she jammed a pipe in its throat and severed its spinal cord."

Was it just her, or had there been a small glimmer of pride in his icy eyes? The others looked surprised and Tess had squeezed her shoulder and grinned at her proudly.

"Wait a second, _Kiera_ killed a metal head? What is wrong with this picture?" This comment came from Ashelin, who was still P.O.'d about the whole, hand-shoulder ordeal.

"Yes, _I_ killed a metal head,"retorted a ruffled looking mechanic. Mar, did they think she was _that_ helpless?

This shut Ashelin up, but sparked another question.

"Torn, why was she forced to defend herself? Wasn't that _your_ job?" said Jak angrily. He knew he should've went with her!

Before Torn could answer, he was interrupted.

"It _is_ possible for me to take care of myself you know, I **don't** always need a body guard!"

Jak clamped his mouth shut too, afraid of the aqua-haired girl's sharp tongue.

The rest of the was walked in silence, except when Tess asked about the skull gem. They got to the transporter taking them to Spargus a few minutes later. The ride over was uneventful and Kiera found herself bored to the point of trying to guess what the other's pj's looked like.

(AN: I do this when my walkman runs outta juice on the way to track meets, try it, you get some funny results!)

They arrived at the area and entered to find the precursors ready to take off. The fuzzy creators gave some spiel about Jak's destiny, but she was only half listening; she kept getting distracting by the lava flowing under them. She snapped back to reality just in time to see Daxter wish for a pair of pants. She smiled inwardly. He'd always complain about missing pants, that had to have made him happy. Then Tess commented on how cool they'd and how she wished she had a pair just like them. The next thing she saw, Tess was now 2 feet tall and fuzzy.

The precursors were talking to Jak now.

"Call me by the name my father gave me, Mar," he told them.

"Wait, you're Mar? _The_ Mar?" Ashelin commented.

Interesting. When you said, 'Oh my Mar' you were really talking about Jak. There'd be many a joke from this one.

Jak was getting ready to leave with the precursors. He was saying goodbye to everyone. He didn't even look at her. Her heart sunk and she could feel tears pricking her eyes. He didn't even say goodbye...

They left in a flash of light to explore the universe, leaving them all staring at the sky.

Then she heard his voice. He hadn't left! She felt her spirits lift immensely. Despite her anger at him, everyone needed him, she needed him...

/ef/

They'd all came back to Haven to find a heavy rain drenching the city. Even so, parties had sprang up all over because of the official end of the war. Jak and Ashelin had headed out to join everyone in getting drunk and dancing the night away. The others just wanted a quiet dinner to celebrate tonight, so they headed back to the Naughty Ottsel.

Torn had said he'd needed to check up on things at HQ and would be back later. Between the rest of them, they made a large meal consisting of roast yakkow, potatoes, rolls, beans, and rice, among other things. They'd been talking quietly until Daxter and Pecker had started arguing again, about something dumb, no doubt.

"Tess, I swear I'm alright! I'm just a little tired is all," Kiera half-lied. She was tired, but that wasn't why she was looking paler than usually.

The gun expert didn't look like she believed her, but before she could nag her anymore, the bell on the door jingled, signaling the entrance of another person. They both looked over to find a soaked Torn walk in, his dreads plastered to his head. He looked cold but didn't say anything as he walked over to where the others were sitting. He grabbed all the food he could and began shoving it in his mouth as Sig, who'd won the drinking contest, asked him something. He nodded his head, his mouth too stuffed with food to answer.

Kiera couldn't help but smile at this; it was kinda cute how he ate so much and stayed to thin.

Tess saw this and her face lit up.

"Oh, yeah! So tell me about your mission today!"

"There's not a lot to tell, Tess; we went down, fixed the elevator, and came back up."

"Yeah, like I believe that. If that's all that happened, why were you so happy when you came back up? Spill!"

"I was 'so happy' because Jinx, being Jinx, grabbed my ass and Torn threatened him for me."

"Really? That guy is a total jerk! Was Torn really mad?"

"I've never seen him look that angry before! He had his dagger at Jinx's throat and told him he'd would kill him if he touched me again. I think he would've killed him if I hadn't stopped him!"

"Aww, that's sorta cute! Most people don't realize what a nice guy he really is."

"Yeah, it was sweet, in a messed up sorta way."

"That reminds me of when he first joined the Underground. He was so shy towards all the girls, it was adorable!"

"Really?"

"Yeah! They all would hit on him and he'd get all flushed! I had to test him on the gun course. He could barely talk to me unless it was strictly business, otherwise he'd get all tongue-tied."

"Aww!"

"_And_ he got a Gold on his _first try_! I'd never seen anyone shoot that well! He was like, 'I think I might've missed a few, but do I still pass?' He actually was nervous he failed! I could've hugged him from the cuteness of it!"

"He's still pretty shy," Kiera stated, taking a sip of her iced tea.

"Really? He doesn't seem it anymore, how do you know?" her friend asked.

"Well, it was stinking hot down there and when I mentioned it, he was like, 'how do you think I feel? I have on long sleeves' so I told him to take it off."

Ooh, Kiera! Trying to scope him out, huh?" Tess interrupted, giving a sly grin Daxter would be proud of.

Kiera rolled her eyes. "Of course not, I just wanted to win the argument. Any ways, he got all tongue-tied and made up a couple of lame excuses why he shouldn't. So, I started teasing him and then the started getting defensive and took it off to prove me wrong."

The she-ottsel sighed. "Man, do I wish I'd been down there when he was in that itty-bitty tank top."

"It was dark until we got to the hot spring, then I was able to see," she leaned forward conspiratorially towards her friend. "By then he was all sweaty and you could see through his tank." she ended with a guilty grin.

"I'm soo jealous! Is it true he has an _eight-pack_?" Tess asked giggly-like.

"You'd better believe it!" Kiera answered, just a giddy.

They both laughed and continued to talk about random things until they both fell asleep where they were sitting a few hours later.

/e/

well, that was sorta a filler chapter, but I needed to get those precursor outta here. And I wanted Kiera and Tess to have a 'girl talk' R&R


	10. Overworked

Hey guys! I've got good news and bad new.

Good news: Indoor Track is finally over, so I should have more time to write and post!

Bad news: Outdoor starts up in 2 weeks, and practice is everyday instead of Tues-Thurs. Meaning less time to write. Dang.

Mr. Brightside

Chapter 10

Overworked

The next few weeks went by without major incident as the rebuilding of the city began. Bodies and waste were disposed of, the charred remains of buildings removed, and new homes built for survivors. Kiera didn't see much of Torn; nor did anyone really. The commander was working over time to undo the damage done to the city. He was constantly away on missions, helping all the citizens try to rebuild there lives again, or was in his office at HQ, drawing up plans for city layouts with different architects.

People would've begun to worry, had they not been too busy to pay such things mind. It was obvious the commander wasn't sleeping; his eyes showed dark circles beneath them, even through his tattoos. And his already thin frame was becoming even skinnier from lack of food. He had no time to eat with his new schedule, let alone rest his weary limbs. He turned instead to coffee, disregarding his hunger pains and dizzy spell; he had more important things to do.

He hadn't spoken to Ashelin since the incident, unless you count the daily reports and the many meetings they both had to attend as conversation. She'd tried a couple of times to talk to him– whether an apology or not – but every time he gave her the cold shoulder. It hurt her that he was taking their, well, whatever it was, so harshly. They'd never _officially _been together, so he shouldn't have been so mad. Sure, they flirted a lot, and he had danced with her that one time, but it wasn't like they'd ever really went on a real date. And besides, it was only one dance, and a slow one at that were he'd come in half way to the end. She loved Jak, she knew that, but she always liked the way Torn had treated her; like a lady, but not like a girly-girl.

She had been slightly jealous of the mechanic when she and Torn had come up from the sewers. He'd never realize it of course, he was too naive in that respect, but he had on hell of an ass on him and it wasn't fair that _girl_ got to have it all to herself for the few hours they'd been down there. In all the years she'd known him, she never had gotten the chance to give it a little squeeze...

Ashelin wasn't the only one Torn wasn't in contact with. Kiera hadn't seen him in about two weeks from when the precursors left and she missed having a guy to talk to besides Daxter or the men she was working with. Everyone was always busy, including herself, fixing all the damages of the war, so she never got to talk to anyone. She was in charge of rebuilding the transport systems that had been totaled by the KG bots. The work was not as simple as it sounded. The new system she had in mind was on a railway that went high above the city. The cool thing about it was that it floated a few inches above the tracks. It was her greatest work yet , all she needed to do was meet with the architects to see if it would clash with their buildings.

All this had taken a lot of coffee and sweat, but it was worth it. She made sure she slept and ate though, because it was never a good idea to be tired while working with something that could potentially kill you.

Today was the day she was meeting with the architects. She walked into HQ, were all the important meetings were, a few minutes before to wash her grease covered hands in the bathroom. She still had a few minutes to spare when she came out, so she to her time walking down the hallway. A few people roamed the halls, most officers on break or people going to meetings like her. Her meeting was a few floors up and she entered the empty elevator at the end of the hall.

Before the doors could fully close, a rather large hand stopped them and pushed them back open. Kiera looked from the hand to its owner. She gave a small smile to him.

"Hey Torn."

"Uh, hey Kiera," he replied in his rough voice, a little bit shocked to see her here. She usually was at her garage right now. Before he could ask her reason for being there, however, she interrupted him.

"Mar, you look awful!"

"Thanks, you're too kind," he said sarcastically.

"No, I mean you look overworked! When was the last time you _slept_?" she asked, concern evident in her voice.

That one got him thinking. When _was_ the last time he'd had more than three hours sleep? Quite a while now, close to a week.

"I'm fine, okay? I've just been a little busy is all."

He didn't want her to start fussing over him like Tess would if she'd been here. It made him uncomfortable when people worried over him, especially women. He liked talking to her and had missed her upbeat personality over the last few weeks, but he didn't need her to start treating him like a baby. Especially since he seemed to act like a hormone crazed teenager when he was around her. And, saying he wasn't okay was whining– and he didn't _do_ whining.

Kiera still looked unconvinced.

"It would still be a good idea to rest once in a while, ya know," she persisted, " Have you been eating enough? You're looking sorta thinner than usual."

"Seriously, I'm okay!" he told her again.

She frowned at this. She could tell he was lying and this didn't sit well with her. They'd been getting along well with each other just a few weeks ago, but know he was sealed up again like when they'd first met. Back then, she'd known him as Tess's humorless friend with the dread-locks. She'd thought they'd at least became good acquaintances if anything, so couldn't he be a little more honest? It's not like she expected him to tell her all his troubles while they ate a tub of ice cream, but a 'yeah, I guess I'm kinda tired' would've been nice. He didn't need to lie!

Then again, he was _male_ and his pride probably wouldn't allow him to admit he was anything less than invincible. Men. Suddenly, an idea came to her.

"Okay, whatever... Hey, what are you doing right now?" she questioned casually as the elevator slowed down.

" Riding an elevator with you," he replied cheekily.

"You know what I meant."

"Well, I've got a meeting with some officers, then I should probably get started on some of the paper work for the new prison in West Haven. Why?"

"I was going to go grab a quick bite for lunch after my meeting. I thought maybe you'd like to come with since they should get out about the same time."

He looked like he was having an inner battle over whether or not he should, so she continued. "Come on, a good meal will help you keep a clear head. And besides, paper work is easy to catch up on."

"Err, well, sure. I guess I'm kinda hungry," he relented at last with a shrug of the shoulders.

She beamed at him, making his stomach do some interesting gymnastics.

"Great! Meet me outside the board room when you're done, k?" she said.

"Sure," he replied with a small smile of his own. Her attitude was infectious.

"Are you 'Miss Hagai'?" a voice from behind them spoke monotonously.

They turned around to find a small, squat, balding man looking at them. He seemed rather impatient.

"Yeah, that'd be me," she responded, leading the man into a small office where the other architects sat. she glanced back at Torn one more time as she shut the door, giving a look that clearly said 'shoot me now'.

Torn gave a wane smile at this and made his way to the board room where he saw some of his officers collecting. He tried to ignore the dull throbbing in his temple.

/d/

Kiera left the room 45 minutes later, thoroughly ready for a nice lunch. The meeting had been productive, despite it being rather boring, and the new system would be up and running in a few months. She looked towards the place she was meeting Torn at and felt her good mood slip a few notches. Jak, Ashelin, and her father were standing with the commander talking about something or other.

Kiera really wasn't in the mood to see Jak right now. Things hadn't been going so smoothly since he'd last talked to her.

/Flashback/

Kiera was still tired from talking so late with Tess the night before when someone knocked on the door that morning. She removed the gloves from her hands and opened the door to find a sheepish looking Jak on the other side.

"Hey Kiera. Look, before you lock me out," he said as she made a move to close the door, "here me out."

"Why should I? You haven't been very talkative lately, why start now?" she glared at him. But he was looking at her with his ocean coloured eyes and she found herself letting him in.

"Look, I didn't mean it! It was an impulse, an accident! Can't you forgive me?" he almost pleaded with her.

No 'I'm sorry', no 'I was a total ass', just 'It was an accident'. He had it coming.

"No. If it was 'just an accident', why did you spend the rest of the night sucking face and go out partying last night? Or was that 'an impulse' too?"

"Kiera–"

"Don't 'Kiera' me!" she continued angrily, "You didn't see _me_ out macking with some guy besides you!"

"Oh yeah," he interrupted her, losing his temper now, "You expect me to believe that you and Torn spent the whole mission talking about the weather! I bet you two screwed like metal heads in heat!"

He'd really done it now, and he knew it. She'd never, even _think_ about cheating on him. He'd crossed the line.

"Get. Out. Now." she growled at him, her green eyes blazing dangerously.

"Kiera, I didn't mean– "

"I SAID GET OUT!" she screamed, grabbing a large wrench and throwing it at him. He narrowly escaped getting brain damage as he tore out of the garage.

/End FB/

Needless to say, apart from a few attempts on Jak's part, they hadn't really talked in the last two weeks.

She didn't let his appearance ruin her mood though. She plastered a smile on her face as she approached the group.

"Hey daddy! What are you doing here?"

"Hello Kiera dear. I dropped by to check on one of the men under my charge. He was helping me decontaminate the forest when he fell from a small cliff. He's alright, just a sprained wrist and a couple of bruises. What about you? How was your meeting?"

"It was fine. Everything will be ready soon. One of the architects, Mr. Bingly, thinks it will be up in less than 4 months."

She could tell Jak was staring at her, but she ignored him. She wanted to get out of there soon, so she took drastic action.

"Ready to go Torn?"

Everyone looked slightly confused at this. Ready to go where?

"Yeah, let's go," he re plied, aware that Ashelin was scowling at him, and not caring less.

"Where are you going, dear?" asked Samos curiously. His daughter had been so sullen lately, all because of that idiotic boyfriend of hers. Could it be she was...no! Of course not!

"Out to lunch."

"Oh, well have fun then."

"Bye daddy, see you guys around!" she smiled at her father. He was so weird sometimes.

Torn nodded to the others as they left and headed to the elevator.

"So, where do you want to go?" she questioned once they were out of the building. The sunny was shining through the smog and there was a warm breeze.

"Your pick," he answered. He was feeling guilty about taking time off when he should be working. But, on the other hand, he probably should eat something and maybe his dull headache would leave him if he talked to her. She had the effect of healing on the people she spoke to. Hopefully it wouldn't take _too_ long and he could get back to work quickly.

"Okay, but I hope you like seafood."

/an/

sorry if the chapter was kinda dull, but it covered the main points I wanted to make. I added in Ashelin's pov 'cause it seemed important. Also, did you really want me to write about their meetings? 'Cause I sure didn't! But if you think I should be more descriptive, let me know. R&R people!


	11. How Many Licks

How it be yo? (Even I have to roll my eyes at that one) I'll make this short. My English teacher (who believes I lack the creative skills to be a writer) is giving us piles of work every night so updating might be harder than I expected.

Disclaimer: yeah right

Mr. Brightside

Chapter 11

How Many Licks

Kiera led then on towards the port, chatting animatedly to Torn who, although not using excessive hand motions, talked back with nearly as much enthusiasm. He enjoyed talking to her; she was always friendly and cheerful but not to the point of being annoying. And she was smart too, a definite plus over Tess (not that he thought she was stupid, just a little...blonde). When he talked, she seemed generally interested in what he was saying and he found that attractive. In a totally legal way! Really!

She enjoyed talking to him as well. They shared similar views on a lot of things, like morals and Daxter and they both liked the movies no one else seemed to like (you know those ones), though he didn't get to watch many. And he had a strange, sarcastic sense of humor that was charming in its own way.

When they neared the port, Torn asked, "So, where are we going any ways?"

"Well, there's this great seafood place no far from the Naughty Ottsel. You didn't object when I mentioned is earlier...you _do _like fish don't you?" she asked with a slightly nervous glance his way. Why she was nervous was a mystery to her, but she really hoped he would like where she was taking him.

"I like it well enough," he answered, "Do they have good coleslaw?"

The look on his face was dead serious and made her laugh.

"Yes," she said when she'd finally calmed down enough to answer to his confused look, "they have good coleslaw."

"What's so funny?" he asked, slightly offended that she was laughing at him.

"Nothing, nothing," she replied with a grin. He was cute when he pouted. "Hey, we're here!"

Torn looked up to see a familiar sign, a large fish to be exact, bearing the words 'The Fighting Fish' under it. The fish's fins were fanned out and elegant, but pretty fierce looking for a sign. He'd walked by the place before but had never gone into it. The aroma of seafood wafted out from the door.

Kiera stepped in and he followed her through the door. Inside it was dim and cool, decorated in different shades of blue, which gave it an aquatic feel. A large fish tank was against the wall, housing a monstrous eel that glanced lazily at the people moving around. They took a seat in one of the booths that lined the wall.

"Are you sure you don't mind seafood? 'Cause if you do, we could always–"

He interrupted her concerned rambling.

"Actually, I've been in the mood for haddock lately. And coleslaw..."

She smiled at him again as the waitress came to take their orders. 'Linda', as her name take stated, gave Torn a once over (unknown to him of course) and asked in a voice of the utmost enthusiasm, "What can I get for yas today?"

"I'll have the grilled cob salad, with olive oil dressing, and a small strawberry daiquiri, please," Kiera ordered with forced politeness. This girl's wandering eyes were getting on her nerves.

"And for you, hun?" she asked the other occupant of the booth with a flutter of her heavily mascaraed eyelashes.

Torn was flipping through the menu trying to decide what he wanted.

"How about the deep fried haddock and fries, a side of linguini and crab, and the biggest bowl of coleslaw you've got. Oh, and a large iced tea too."

"Sure thing, sug. I'll get your drinks out in a minute."

She bustled away, leaving them alone. Kiera looked over at Torn, who was trying to wrestle the menu back into its holder, and studied him for a moment.

He looked so tired, the bags under his eyes had more bags under them. His normally warm skin looked pale and sickly showing his lack of sleep even more. What worried her the most though, was how baggy his clothes were. Normally, they were loose on his thin frame, but now they were just hanging from his thin body. 'Has he been eating at all?' she thought.

The worry must have shown on her face because he said, "What's wrong? You look troubled."

She didn't hesitate.

"Torn, have you been eating enough? Seriously," she added as he began to roll his eyes, "you look a little thin."

"Like I said before, I'm fine," he told her. Why couldn't she just except that like everyone else had? Why did she have to be difficult?

She sighed. "Okay. I'll quit pestering you now. Just make sure you don't get sick, okay? I don't want to think about the state the city would be in if you did."

He gave her a reassuring smile. "Yes, that's a scary scenario."

He was relieved she had dropped the subject of his health. A small part of him like how she fussed over him, but a bigger part, aka his ego, didn't like anyone to think of him as less than immortal.

Their drinks came then and Torn raised an eyebrow and said, "A strawberry daiquiri? You _do_ realize you're seventeen years old and sitting across from the commander of the FL, right?"

Kiera smiled at him coyly and lowered her lashes.

"Now, you wouldn't _really_ arrest me, would you?"

"Of course I would," he replied mischievously, "I'd love to see you in hand cuffs."

"Was that a come on?" Kiera asked with an eyebrow raised, a grin on her face. Was he talking dirty to her?

Torn, who hadn't meant to say that at all, said innocently, "No! I only meant that the look on your father's face would be priceless."

He was able to keep the blush from his cheeks, but there was one thing he couldn't suppress: his mind. The Voice was back with a vengeance.

Kiera's dirty mind had a few ideas of its own, some she herself wouldn't mind, but she pushed these thoughts to the back of her brain and said, "I don't get these very often," she gestured to her drink, "just when I want something fruity."

"Ever try a mudslide?" he asked.

"A what?"

"A mudslide. It's like a chocolate smoothie with alcohol in it. They use those chocolate cookie things with the cream in the center. I think you'd like it."

"Sounds good, but aren't you supposed to be telling me **not** to drink, not suggesting different mixed drinks? Couldn't you arrest yourself for that?" she asked.

"Well technically–"

He was interrupted by the arrival of their food, which smelled heavenly to him. He began to shovel his coleslaw into his mouth (which was wonderful), while Kiera laughed at his antics.

They ate their food and talked about the rebuilding of the city. It was coming along well despite having low man power and inadequate equipment, much to the credit of Torn. He'd never admit it, but he was the one that was practically building all of the buildings, fixing all the broken water lines, and restarting all the schools. Well, not _literally_ but you get my drift. Without his drive the city would be screwed.

They left the pub a little while later, both full with good food. But not too full for dessert.

"Chocolate Almond Truffle or Strawberry Cheesecake?"

"I don't know, why don't you get both?"

"Can I do that? I thought a double scoop was only of one flavor."

Kiera giggled and said to the man at the counter, "Can we do that?"

"Sure, I guess."

"Okay then. We'll take two large cones then with those two flavors," she told the guy, who was relieved that they had finally ordered.

They got their ice cream cones and headed out of the little parlour. They didn't say anything, just enjoyed the nice, comfortable silence. Torn could see her out of the corner of his eye and had trouble taking his eyes off her tongue. It was gently licking the ice cream off the cone in a most innocent manner. And it was kinda hot.

'She's eating _ice cream_ you imbecile! Stop thinking that kind of stuff!' one voice said.

'And it looks hot!' another retorted.

'I really should see a doctor about this.' Torn thought as they walked back to HQ.

That was sooo cliche! But effective. Hmm... any ways, R&R! Oh, and I have another chapter of Why They Really... which should be up soon, so read that if you want some mindless humor!


	12. It's a Deal!

Hey everyone! I'm typing this while watching HPGF so my spelling might be a little wonky!

Disclaimer: I don't need to say it

Mr. Brightside

Chapter 12

Jak was feeling lousy. Really lousy. It had been 2 weeks since the incident and Kiera still hadn't forgiven him. He was going insane! He'd tried talking to her numerous times, almost resorted to begging once, but she just ignored him. So, yeah, he deserved it for the most part. But, his conscience was already on his ass, big time.

Why had he listened to Ashelin and went out dancing? Then got drunk _again_? He came to the conclusion that the governess was a lot like donuts you get from a grocery store: they're not all that good, not even real or what you want, but you can't stop eating them until you've downed a dozen. Then you're left unsatisfied and mad at yourself.

'Not a bad analogy,' he thought as he scoped out metal heads near the precursor temple. He'd needed to let out some aggression after he left HQ.

He couldn't believe Kiera was rebounding so quickly. Ever since their argument... he cringed, just like he did every time it came to his mind. Boy, had he screwed himself then.

When he looked back, he knew he'd been _way_ out of line on that one. Not the apologizing part, the way he'd handled it. First off, he shouldn't have came so early in the morning. Kiera wasn't much of a morning person. And he should of been less callous and chose his words better. Lord, he never even said 'I'm sorry', how thick could he _be_? Then, the cherry on top, he'd accused her of sleeping with his friend.

'Really,' he thought, 'I deserve this.'

Kiera would never do that, not even for revenge. He deserved to be smacked with a wrench. He couldn't even think of another man touching her, enjoying her soft little body... he felt sick. And Torn would never do that either. The more he thought about it, the more he realized what he'd done to his commander too. Kiera was beautiful, smart, funny and _friendly_. Being a straight guy, the blonde didn't know what Torn rated on the Hot or Not scale, but he wasn't really funny and not at all friendly. He'd have a lot more trouble getting into another relationship than she would.

This was what he thought _before_ he'd left HQ. Then he saw Kiera and Torn leave together to go get lunch. Together. That's when he started to ponder the possibility of there really being something there. he dismissed these thoughts when he was a metal head coming at him. It wasn't very big and it looked old– and easy kill. With one quick shot, he killed it, its body falling limply to the ground and doing a sort of spread eagle on the sand. He sighed. He couldn't even feel good about taking down a metal head! If she'd just talk to him again... but she was being difficult. Yeah, he was a jerk, but she didn't have to give him the cold shoulder! Maybe she'd talk to him if–

"Woah!"

Jak started when someone suddenly grabbed his wide shoulders from behind and said, "Hey baby."

His ocean coloured eyes turned navy for a moment.

"Oh, uhh, hey Ashelin."

For the past two weeks the blonde had been trying to escape the tall governess. She didn't seem to think the kiss was a mistake and had been practically throwing herself at him. Yes, he liked her. Yes, she was hot. Yes, she ruled a city and was filthy rich. But he didn't love her. And he was pretty sure she used her money for a few surgeries that had made her hot, if you get what I'm saying. He loved Kiera more than he could ever love her (and _her_ boobs weren't plastic, a definiteplus).

"Well that was a fine hello," the red headed woman said with a pout of her collagen filled lips. When she saw he wasn't responding, she switched tactics at the speed of light. Slipping her arms around his small waist, she asked, "Jak, what's wrong? This doesn't have anything to do with _her _does it?"

"No!" the blonde answered a little too quickly.

"Look, I can't have a relationship where you're still hung up on someone else," she told him testily.

This was it. He could tell her he wasn't into her and get out of this relationship.

"I'm not still hung up on her."

So much for that.

"That's great, 'cause I don't like you thinking about other women. Besides, she's probably over you by now. I mean, it'd be pretty pathetic of her to hang on to someone she couldn't get."

These words caused him anger and stung at the same time. How dare she say that about Kiera and say she was over him!

"I guess you're right. I mean, she and _Torn_ seem to be getting along well together, he's moved on too. No use me moping around, trying to win her back, huh?"

Ashelin made a sound that was a lot like a growl.

"Yes, Torn and the mechanic seem to be getting close."

Definitely a growl.

/TK/

Kiera had finished her ice cream and was munching on the crunchy cone. Around her she could see the new buildings of Haven. She wasn't embarrassed to say she lived there anymore. Most of the city was beginning to look like New Haven.

"You know Torn, if you ever get sick of telling people what to do, you could always become an architect."

"Don't blame me, I give all the credit to the guys who designed it. And I could never stop telling people what to do, it's in my blood," said the tall guy, who had already finished his cone.

She rolled her eyes and smiled. He was being humble and it was cute. She decided not to point that out, however.

"What do you mean, 'in your blood'?"

"Well, my old man was in the KG when Damas was still top dog. He was a sergeant and fiercely loyal to the king. Guess that's the reason Praxis got rid of him as soon as he came to power."

His face was blank as he revealed this, but his eyes held mixed emotions. 'Right now' she thought, 'he looks like he needs a hug.'

Before Kiera could at least say she was sorry, something furry ran up her leg and arm, causing her to give a small, 'eek!' of surprise.

"Oops, sorry Keer," said Tess sheepishly, "Hey Torn how's it– oh man, you look awful!"

"That's what I said!" Kiera told the furry girl.

"Thanks, you both are too kind," Torn said monotonously, his long ears drooping comically.

"Not like that silly! We mean you look really tired, that's all!" the she-ottsel clarified.

"Before you two force me into a bed and make me eat soup for a week, I'll say it again: I'm Fine."

"Yeah okay," they both rolled their eyes.

"Any ways Kiera, I'm glad I caught you. Me and some of the girls from HQ are taking the night off and going clubbing, wanna come?"

"Of course!" she mechanic responded excitedly, "You know I _live _for dancing!"

"All right, we'll drop by 'round eight! I've got to meet Daxxy now, so I'll see you later. Bye Torn!"

With that, she scampered away down the street, dodging other pedestrian's feet with surprising grace for an ottsel. The two watched her for a moment before turning back to each other.

"Daxxy? He'll never live it down!" said Kiera with an evil grin on her face.

"You like to dance, huh?"

She looked back towards him. "Yeah, I love it! Well, I'd love it even more if those girls from the FL didn't always come there." she said the last part with a glare at a nearby dumpster, probably imagining it as one of the leaguers heads.

"How come?" the commander didn't like anyone dissing his men, or women in this case.

"Well, they treat me like a little kid, acting like I can't take care of myself just because I'm a mechanic and not a soldier. And they always ask me if I really dated the hero of the city, or if I do get to hang around y– um, like the governess and other people. It gets really annoying."

Torn looked a bit surprised. "Why would they think you couldn't handle yourself?"

"Because I don't really know how to handle a gun or anything like that."

Torn looked contemplative for a moment. Then he said, "Why don't you just learn how to use a gun? Then they should get off you back about it."

"That's not a bad idea, but..."

"But what?"

She looked down cast. "Think about what Sig, or Jak, or anyone would say it I asked them to teach me how to shoot a gun. They'd just laugh and shake their heads. I'm sick of everyone thinking I'm a weakling."

"Well, I'm not laughing at you. I think it's a smart idea for you to learn to use a gun. What they're afraid of is that you might actually not need their help, making them look weak. If you're really serious about learning to fight, I can teach you."

She stopped in her tracks. "Are you serious?"

He raised an eyebrow. "When am I not?"

Her face split into a huge grin. "You'd really do that for me? You'd really teach me!"

He nodded.

"Ohmygawd, thank you! I promise I'll learn and show everyone that I'm not weak!" she threw her arms around his chest and squeezed him tightly.

"Um, Kiera, I can't breath." he was grinning though. She was so beautiful when she was

smiling.

She let go and beamed up at him. They were right outside HQ now and she needed to get back to her garage. Composing herself she spoke.

"Really Torn, thank you. You don't know how much this means to me."

In one quick fluid movement she leaned up and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"I'll see you later, I've got to go. We'll talk about our deal later."

She walked off leaving Torn standing there with a dazed look on his face, blushing heavily. He walked inside, not noticing two people, one blonde and one red head, watching from a window a few floors above him.

/AN/

there ya go, a little kiss for ya! Will Kiera learn to fight? Who was watching them? Only I know the answer so stay tuned!


	13. Move It

Hey everyone! I apologize in advance for there not being any T/K interaction in this chapter. I just _love_ making you guys go nuts as I drag this out! Jk, the real reason I'm making their relationship go so slowly is, well, it really isn't. I mean, it may seem like it taking years to happen, it's really only a few weeks. And, it's gonna take time any ways since they're just getting to know each other. Oh, I just wrote a whole paragraph! Um, here's the story! Hehe

disclaimer: I don't even own a working tread-mill, let alone a copy righted video game

Mr. Brightside

Chapter 13

Move It

"Hey daddy! How's it going?"

Samos looked up from his book to see his only daughter bounce, yes bounce, in the doorway. He had headed back to their apartment to rest a bit a little while after talking to her.

When she had said she and the commander were going out to lunch, he'd been surprised. For weeks she'd seemed so depressed and pale – well, paler than usual. All because of that idiotic boyfriend of hers.

It was a nice change to see a smile on her face, although it was odd that she'd taken a liking to the commander. He liked the boy, quite a bit actually. He was very responsible and always gave his elders the respect they deserved. It was always 'Sir', not any of those names that orange imbecile came up with. And he was very smart and a good leader too. He really did like the boy.

But his daughter was kind and sweet and he was so...serious. It just didn't seem to match up. Not that they were _dating _or anything. Precursors no! Just getting better acquainted was all.

"Hello dear, did you have a good lunch? You seem to be in a good mood."

She smiled at him as she unlaced her boots. "It was great!"

The old sage couldn't help himself. "Really? The commander doesn't seem like the type you'd usually have such a nice time with."

"Torn? Naw! He's actually really funny once you get to know him!"

Samos looked amused. "That boy having a sense of humor? What a concept!" his eyes widened, "Oh, I've just remembered! Tonight I have a meeting with a man who owns a tree farm just east of Haven. The new layout of the city calls for trees in some of the parts. I was asked to try and make a deal with him. The meeting is around six and will probably go on until later. Will you be alright while I'm gone?"

She rolled her eyes, but smiled. Fathers! "Of course! Besides, I'm going out dancing with Tess around eight, so I'll probably get home later than you."

"Dancing?" His expression turned stern, "I gather there will be young men there?"

"Um, yeah, there'll be some guys where we're going," she replied cautiously. You have be careful around an over protective father.

"Kiera, you know I don't like when you go out where there is boys."

"Daddy! I'm seventeen years old!" she said, putting a small hand to her forehead. Honestly!

"I know dear, but those boys can be shifty. Why can't you girls go see a movie or something else like that? I can't rest with knowing my only little girl might have men getting fresh with her!"

Come on dad, movies are no fun! Besides some of the girls from HQ are going too."

The old man sighed. "Well, I can't argue that Torn hasn't trained them well. I guess it's alright if you go, just be careful."

"Given," she told him and gave him a kiss on the top of his head, trying to avoid the moss growing. " Now I need to go get some work done in the garage."

He shook his head as she took off through the door. No wonder his hair was white!

/T/

Dang, he was out of eraser. Again! He needed to concentrate on the new prison in East Haven, not what had just happened!

'She smelled really good.'

'Not listening!'

'Like apples.'

'One ward will be able to hold over 1700 prisoners!'

'Her lips were really nice too.'

'Lalalalala, I can't hear you!'

'Nice and soft and peach colored –'

–Smack!--

The commander of the FL smacked his head against his table lamp in an effort to drown out the voices that were almost constant companions these days. This seemed to work, but now he saw two piles of paper work instead of one.

'Stupid papers. Stupid deal. Stupid kiss!' 'Nice kiss.' 'No, not nice kiss! Illegal kiss!'' Nice illegal kiss!'

Torn sighed. They were at it again. He definitely needed to see a doctor. Right now, he needed to torture himself with paper work for being such a... perv? No. Skeez? Nope. What was he feeling so guilty about? Liking the kiss?

'Bingo!'

Okay, so yeah, it was a nice kiss. A sweet, confusing, little kiss. It was obvious she didn't mean anything by it, she'd been happy and wanted to say thanks. And he would've accepted it as a nice thank you and let it be if it hadn't made him feel so...funny. Not the 'aww how sweet she gave me a kiss' funny. The 'good lord you stupid voice, I could get arrested for that!' funny.

"Looks like it's going to be a long night," he told himself with a sigh.

/AJ/

"What the hell was that!"

The red head was almost literally foaming at the mouth.

"I don't know, Ash," the blonde man answered her quietly. He was staring at the floor in her office, eerily silent. "Looks to me like that bitch really is going out with Torn."

He looked up at her with a fire in his eyes, a black fire, one that normally scared him. But right now he welcomed it. He all of a sudden roughly grabbed the governess and slammed his mouth to hers. She didn't put up any fight, not that it mattered. He needed revenge and he'd get it. She would pay for that kiss.

/K/

"What should I do with my hair snuggles?"

Kiera was standing in front of the mirror in her underwear, talking to a rather menacing looking cactus. Her father had left about an hour ago and she'd just gotten out of the shower. She ruffled her damp emerald locks a few times and tapped her bottom lip with her small index finger.

"Snugs, I think I need a new hair style. Maybe some more layers. I mean, I've had my hair the same way since I was thirteen."

She glanced over at her plant in its little sombrero shaped pot, as though the was expecting a response. Then she shook her head and said, "I've been spending _way_ too much time with daddy lately."

She padded into her bathroom and ran some styling cream through her hair. The result was a slightly spikier 'do. With her hair done, she examined her alabaster complexion and decided it was time for a little make up.

She never really wore make up, especially not day to day. It would take too much time and get messed up while she worked any ways, so she spared herself the hassle. Secretly though, she'd love to wear it everyday. It made her look different, more mature. On a whim one day, she bought an onyx liner a the drug store. After a little practice, and a lot of racoon eyes, she'd gotten the hang of putting it on. The only problem was you can't just start wearing make up one day, it's just not how it works. That and her dad would probably flip.

Carefully, she lined her upper and lower eyelids, trying to keep the line as straight as possible. She winged the edges out a little bit for some flare. When she was done, she blinked and looked back at her reflection. Hmm, not bad. Her eyes definitely looked bigger and brighter, even more so than usual. Add a little peach lip gloss and her make up was done. Now she needed to choose an outfit.

The slender girl walked back out into her very red bedroom, towards her closet. Opening up the door, her vision was assaulted by a montage of different colours. Most of her clothes were work clothes, stained or ripped with patches on them.

'I should go shopping for a few new things soon, I need a new bra any ways. Dare I say, it feels a little too small.'

She sorted through the selection, shaking her head or shrugging her shoulders when she came across certain pieces. Finally, she picked out a denim mini and a crimson tank top with pretty silver beading across the top.

"This will work," she said out loud.

She slipped them on and grabbed a pair of low-healed black sandals and a pair of dangly silver chandelier earrings Tess had gotten her. The girl looked one more time before smiling and going into her living room to wait.

/NS/

"So Kiera, is it true that you and Jak are officially _over_?"

The petite girl looked over at the asker of this question, a particularly nasally bleach blonde named Leslie, and raised an eyebrow.

"Yes actually, we broke up a couple of weeks ago."

"Really?" another girl Peara, who had bright orange pig tails, gasped mockingly, "But why?"

A few of the older girls traded sly glances; what would the little mechanic say?

"We just grew apart," Kiera told them bluntly. She knew exactly what these girls were trying to do: upset her. She couldn't wait till they got to the club, at least there she could dance.

If it wasn't for the dancing, she'd never had come, not even for Tess. These girls were so superficial. They wore less clothing than Ashelin and were just as bitchy. At least the governess had a brain.

"Guys..." Tess warned. Sometimes these girls could get a little rough.

"Lighten up Tess, we're just curious!"

"Yeah, besides, we're here!"

Kiera almost sighed in relief at the sight of their destination: Cerboniface. She could hear the loud pounding of the music and instantly felt calmer. She loved to dance. They got in the line, that was thankfully short, and entered the dark club. She wanted very badly to get moving, but the others 'insisted' she get a drink with them.

They sat down at the bar to order drinks. The conversation soon turned over to work. Kiera pretty much spaced out until a particular snatch of their conversation caught her attention.

"Oh gods, Torn is so incredibly sexy!"

"I _know_! Could his voice be _any _hotter?"

"I heard he has an eight pack!"

"Ask Kiera, she knows."

All the girls looked incredulously as the mechanic, who was glaring at a smirking Tess.

"What does she mean 'you know'?" asked Leslie, her already squinty eyes narrowing.

"Well, Torn and I were on a mission together once, and he, um, had to take his shirt off. I, uh, caught a glimpse of a really nice eight pack when he did," Kiera told the eager girls while trying not to blush.

"Oh, that reminds me, how did your lunch together go?"

Kiera looked suspiciously at the blonde. She was up to something...

"Wait, _you _went out to lunch with Torn! Like a date!" all the girls, minus Tess who was trying not to laugh, glared at Kiera.

She blushed heavily. "It wasn't a date!"

Peara smirked. "I guess you're right. I mean, he's soo not your type. What could you two possible have in common?"

The others relaxed, rolling their eyes in agreement. Kiera had to fight with herself not to tell them about her and Torn's agreement. She wanted to surprise everyone though, so she kept her mouth shut.

"Look, I'm here to dance. You guys have fun comparing STD's, I'm outta here."

She left before any of them could think of a good comeback. She'd have to apologize to Tess later, but those girls just got on her nerves. Finally, she made it to the dance floor. Perfect.

/NS/

"I'll take a mudslide please."

Kiera had been dancing for 45 minutes straight and needed a break. Her forehead was shiny with sweat and her legs were getting heavy from fatigue. She sat down at the bar, reveling in the cushion on the high stool.

Around her, bodies moved to the beat of the song playing. Hips knocking, arms swinging, and heads bobbing, they all seemed surreal to her. Soon she'd join them again.

"One mudslide."

The emerald haired girl looked back at the bar and saw what seemed to be something like a milkshake. The swirls of chocolate and cookies looked delicious, especially with the whipped cream on top. She took a sip and was immediately in heaven. Torn was too right.

Her thoughts drifted to the commander. She couldn't _believe _she'd kissed him. It wasn't like she'd jumped his bones or anything, it was just a kiss on the cheek. Hardly more than she gave her father really. Except when she kissed her father it never felt like _that_. Limbs numb, cheeks flushed. There was a heat in her abdomen she couldn't explain, something she rarely felt. She went light headed whenever she breathed in his scent, a deep cinnamon aroma mixed with sweat. Every time she was near him, a voice inside her head said things, things that made her temperature rise. This part of her thrived on his scent, his gorgeous body, his voice...Oh, his voice! So deep and husky, the perfect mixture of harsh and soft. Just the thought brought back that feeling.

She shook her head and finished her drink. She couldn't believe she was getting off at the thought of his voice! Yeah, she totally thought it was the hottest thing she'd ever heard, but come on! She was seventeen, not thirteen! She walked back out onto the dance floor in an attempt to get him out of her mind.

/ec/

I made this one extra long since there wasn't a lot of romance. There's probably only going to be a few more chapters in this story before I start the sequel. R&R


	14. The End of the Beginning

Alright everyone, this is the **last chapter** of Mr. Brightside. Read the bottom if you would and I'll tell you a little about the sequel!

Mr. Brightside

Chapter 14

The End of the Beginning

"Ugh, what time is it?"

Torn lifted his head up from the mahogany desk and blinked a few times, the early morning sun glaring across his face. He rubbed his tired burning eyes and glanced out the window that spanned the wall to his right. Judging by the position of the sun, which was just peeking up over the horizon, it was still early. Oh, crap, he fell asleep.

The commander stood up and felt his joints pop as he stretched. He must've drifted off late the night before while he finished the piles of papers he had to sign. He had fully intended to get some sleep; he had promised at least two women he wouldn't spend the whole night working. But he had gotten a little off track what with the voices inside his head and all, and still had a lot of papers to go over. You know how it goes. Now he had a back ache from sitting in that position for so long. And his butt had fallen asleep too. Oh joy.

Walking out of his office, he headed towards the elevator. He needed to get his men up and moving at the barracks for a little extra 'conditioning', which just meant he worked them to total exhaustion while he watched. As he shuffled down the hall, he passed the governess's HQ office and got a funny feeling about it. He stopped in front of the door and peeked in a crack between the curtains hanging over the windows. What he saw made him want to dry heave: Jak and Ashelin were slumped on top of each other, clearing sleeping.

It was then that it hit home. Ashelin wasn't his anymore. She didn't love him. He turned away from the grotesque sight and blinked a few times. His eyes felt funny, they were getting cloudy. He rubbed them a few times and looked back at his palms; they were wet. He was crying. For the first time in roughly fourteen years, tears made streams down his tattooed cheeks as he walked down the hallway.

Torn took a detour into the bathroom and locked himself inside. Taking a look in the mirror, he surveyed his face. He looked pathetic, his azure eyes clouded over with pain and angst. He splashed a little water on his face and put on a stern look. To hell with her. He had a job to do.

/AJ/

'Ugh, what time is it?' thought Haven's governess from the floor of her office. She looked down to see Jak still asleep next to her. She smiled a little at how messy his hair was, sticking up all over the place. It looked really soft so she moved her hand up to feel it. Suddenly she froze with her hand halfway to his head; she could hear footsteps coming down the hall. 'Oh shit! I have no clothes!' She frantically looked around for something to cover herself with. Finding nothing, she feigned sleeping, hoping the curtain kept her from being found.

Whoever it was stopped. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest. A few moments later, the person started walking again. Quietly, she crept over to the window and peered out the crack between the curtains. She only caught a glimpse of the person's foot, but she could tell who it was. Torn. Damn! It was definitely her second in command; she knew those beat up combat boots from anything, specially made for his big, stupid duck feet.

Why did he have to be such a workaholic? Why did he have to look into her office to check and see if she'd gone home and wasn't lying there dead or something? Why did she want to cry?

"Ash, what are you doing?"

Ashelin nearly flinched at the unaffectionate tone he used.

She turned away from the window and toward Jak. He was looking up at her curiously. There was no loving smile on his face, no shy 'Mornin' Ash' she'd come to expect. How much would she give to hear Torn say that one more time? She knew she'd never get anymore greetings like the ones he'd had for her the few times she'd woken up in his arms. Now she really wanted to cry.

"Uh, nothing," she responded while gathering her clothes.

Jak must have sensed something was wrong, because while he threw on his own clothes, he said, "So, how about we go get some breakfast?" He needed her if he wanted to get over Kiera. He realized he'd been a little coarse to her and felt sort of guilty.

"Sure," she responded with a small smile.

/K/

"Ugh, what time is it?"

A bob of emerald coloured hair popped out from under a ruby red duvet. The owner of the hair, and blanket for that matter, cracked open an eye to peer at the digital clock next to her bed. It read 6:14 am. She groaned and flopped back down under the covers.

"Why did I even wake up?" Kiera mumbled to herself.

Last night she'd gotten home around 11:30, slightly tipsy from the small amount of alcohol she'd drank. Boy was she happy she didn't get drunk like Tess did (or Daxter really), who made a huge fool of herself by stripping for the DJ the night before. Kiera seemed to act a little more...seductive? Sure, why not.

She remembered getting home by taxi; had she winked at the driver? Yick, it must've been the mudslide. Then she slipped out the door and into her flat (not literally, thank gawd!), saying goodnight to her father, who had waited up for her on the couch, before she headed to her room. From there she'd washed off her make up, threw on her pj's, and slid under the cool satin sheets, immediately conking out. But that still didn't explain why she'd woken up at this ungodly hour of the day.

Little by little, she remembered what had woken her up. She'd been dreaming. About trying to fix a refrigerator. She'd opened up the door to the freezer to find Onin in there playing cards with her cactus. For some reason, this made her scream and she slammed the door shut. Suddenly, she wasn't in her garage anymore, she was in the old Underground HQ. It looked the same as always, posters of various figure heads on the wall, their faces scribbled on, old bunks lining the wall, and Torn was there too. Without a shirt. And sweaty. Wow. Then she walked over to him and leaned on him, hands on his chest, their hips touching, and then...

Something had flew into her window, making a 'flump!' sound and waking her up. Dammit! She was so close! Stupid bird, picking that _exact _moment to commit suicide ! Stupid perverted mind having the dream in the first place!

She stretched a little bit and got up to use the bathroom, throwing a glare at the window the offending chipigeon had ran into. She took a quick shower to rid herself of last nights grime and sweat and threw on a pair of comfy old jeans. Her father was still sleeping when she looked into check on him. This caused Kiera to smile; he had stayed up late last night just to make sure she was alright, even asking if she was hungry before she went to bed. Normally, this action would have seemed suffocating and annoying, but she felt different today. Like something was going to change, something good.

She pondered what it could be as she went out to the kitchen to make her father breakfast. Maybe it was the promise Torn had made her. She wanted to show everyone who thought she was weak that she wasn't a little girl anymore. And Torn had promised her he would teach her how, taking time out of his busy schedule to do something for her. He hadn't laughed at her, that might have been it too. He honestly thought she could be something. This made her feel elated.

'No,' she thought as she poured herself a glass of orange juice, 'I feel so different because I finally don't care about that stupid kiss anymore.'

And this time, she meant it.

I feel really bummed that this story is over. This was the first story I wrote that I let anyone read. Thank you every one who every reviewed! you guys are great for taking time to write something to me about what I wrote! In the past few months, I've really needed a confidence boost a lot and it meant a lot to me that you liked my story.

There's a few things I wanted to say about some stuff. Like the title. This was originally going to be a one shot, but stardust03, my first _ever _reviewer, told me to write more, so I did. There's other little stuff, a lot of inside jokes, that I don't think you care if I explain of not, so I'll spare you the brain cells.

The Sequel:

**So Sick**

Warning: Involves confusing humor, irony, hospital trips, hair cuts, and even more dragging on of the inevitable-- Kiera jumping Torn's bones. Man, I'm evil!

Love you all! keep an eye open for the above!

-Mecca-Dog


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